The Isley Brothers Play R. Kelly Songs During Verzuz

During last night’s Verzuz battle, The Isley Brothers performed tracks that were written and produced by R. Kelly.
Sunday night’s Verzuz battle, which saw The Isley Brothers pitted against Earth, Wind, and Fire, was certainly one to remember. The groups are two of the most notable and accomplished ones in R&B and soul, and many of their iconic songs were perfectly stacked up against one another. The internet usually explodes with reactions to every Verzuz battle, but last night’s reactions were a bit different due to the fact that The Isley Brothers played some songs that were written and produced by R. Kelly.
Disgraced singer R. Kelly is a longtime collaborator of The Isley Brothers, and he is currently spending time in a Chicago jail while awaiting his trial on sex trafficking and abuse crimes spanning both NYC and the Chi. R. Kelly’s trial in New York is currently scheduled for August 9th, and he will face his second trial in Chicago about a month later on multiple counts of sexual abuse.
On Sunday night, when The Isley Brothers played “Contagious” during the Verzuz battle, which was written, produced by, and featuring R. Kelly, people had quite a bit to say. Many were confused that The Isley Brothers chose to play the songs, which they could have simply omitted.
Others made jokes about R. Kelly, who is currently sitting in a jail cell.
Some also noted that if R. Kelly were to be included in a Verzuz battle, they weren’t sure if he could be matched.

MEMPHIS, TN – SEPTEMBER 15: The Isley Brothers perform with The Roots at the Six Degrees to Tennessee Roots Jam at New Daisy Theater on September 15, 2018 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Greg Campbell/Getty Images for Tennessee Tourism)

Blogs

ANOTHER RECORD FOR SZA AND KENDRICK

ANOTHER RECORD FOR SZA AND KENDRICK

Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s Grand National Tour brought in some serious cash. Billboard reports that Grand National is the highest-grossing co-headlining tour ever. The outing has grossed $254.6 million with 1.1 million tickets sold from 23 shows. By comparison, JAY-Z and Beyoncé‘s On the Run II Tour is the only other joint tour to hit…

LEBRON JAMES IS NOT RETIRING

LEBRON JAMES IS NOT RETIRING

LeBron James, 40, isn’t ready to retire yet. King James is staying with the Los Angeles Lakers for another season and he’s set to head into his 23rd NBA season. He’s been playing for the Lakers since 2018 and he won an NBA Championship with the team in 2020. Now, he’s hoping for another one…

SUPER BOWL HALFTIME PERFORMANCE RUMORS

SUPER BOWL HALFTIME PERFORMANCE RUMORS

We’re starting to hear loud rumblings about next year’s Super Bowl halftime show performer. The rumor going around is that Jay-Z will take the stage during the big game in San Francisco on February 8th, 2026. While we’re unable to confirm or deny at this point, it almost seemed inevitable that Hov would headline at…

PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE HAS RESTED IN DIDDY CASE

PROSECUTION AND DEFENSE HAS RESTED IN DIDDY CASE

On Tuesday, both the prosecution and defense rested their cases in the Sean “Diddy” Combs trial. The prosecution finished presenting evidence, wrapping up nearly six weeks of testimony, videos, pictures, and documents. On the same day, Diddy’s defense team brought no witnesses to the stand and presented several pieces of evidence in the case. The…