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Beenie Man Vs Bounty Killer 2.0? Fans Speculate After Verzuz Teased A Rematch 

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Beenie Man, Bounty Killer

Verzuz has announced a Memorial Day Weekend rematch and Dancehall fans are speculating and hoping that The Doctor and The Warlord will be back for a second “Soundclash Edition”.

“We got so much on the way and can’t wait to reveal the rest, but for now…Try to guess the other ones!” the tweet above the Verzuz Schedule teased, with ‘Ladies Night’, ‘Mother’s Day’ and ‘Rematch’ battles blurred out.

Bounty Killer, now a shareholder in Verzuz-Thriller, reposted the image on his Instagram account, where curious fans chimed in, “Is it you?” and “Jamaica wants to know.”

Memorial Day Weekend 2021 in May will mark the anniversary of Beenie Man and Bounty Killer’s epic battle that was more camaraderie than actual clash and viewed by over 3 million people globally, according to Verzuz statistics.

Dubbed the series favorite by organizers Timbaland and Swizz Beats, the duo promised “More Caribbean Verzuz on the way!!” in a tweet last year and fans are hopeful for an eventful holiday with another link-up from the icons.

Many have been calling for showdowns between other parallel giants in the genre such as Shaggy and Sean Paul or Capleton and Sizzla. It seems different formats of the hit web-series were being considered before Verzuz was sold to streaming service Triller, as last year, Swizz Beatz told Jamaican dancer/deejay Ding Dong Ravers that he and Elephant Man might be asked to deliver an “energy package” to the Verzuz stage.

Still, the re-up fans are requesting the most is of the face-to-face match-up last May viewed by everyone from Rihanna to the Jamaican Prime Minister.

“I would love to see a Bounty v Beenie rematch for the 1 year anniversary of their battle… Memorial Day weekend… they helped elevated the platform to a whole new level… it’s only right…”, one fan said, while another wrote, “Beenie Vs Bounty Verzuz remains untouched.”

Another fan expressed how they’re still captivated even as the one year anniversary approaches: “Everyday I thank God for the Beenie man and Bounty killer clash. Pure vibes!!!”, while another claimed a replay of the special moment could cure their depression: “might need to watch the beenie/bounty verzuz again for the serotonin.”

Others noted their game-changing in-person appearances that forever switched the standard on the series, “Beenie and Bounty Pioneered doing #VERZUZ in the same room in a Pandemic.”

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Bounty Killer (left) and Beenie Man (right) on stage during a friendly lyrical battle at ‘Fully Loaded’ 2010.

Explaining the brave move on the BET series Making, Beenie alluded to the spontaneous performance antics that are a key element of dancehall stagecraft.

“I said if I was gonna do it, it have to be in the same room because the vibes will have to be different because we are dancehall, we don’t sing R&B or hip hop, we have to have the same amount of energy pushing,” he said. Those excitement levels translated to a winning entertainment formula that has fans reminiscing to this day.

“If I had to rewatch an episode of #Versus……. It would be d Bounty Vs Beenie…… It was flames from start to finish….. Even wen d Officer walk in n Bounty run lol,” one fan quipped. The “Soundclash Edition” sparked everything from viral memes to overdue discussions on the weight of Dancehall culture.

It also popularized the term “Verzuz Effect”, where featured musicians experience increased streaming success within hours of the live event.

The episode also opened up major markets for the two legends who are slated to headline a show in Ibiza in October. “They gave us the most talked about & legendary link up on ig during lockdown now see them live on stage,” the event flyer read.

Beenie Man gave BET his two cents on the timely, healing quality of the quarantine-inspired phenomenon: “Without music in this pandemic, especially black music, mi ah tell yuh di honest truth, people woulda lose dem sanity enuh, more crazy woulda out deh dan wah out deh already.”

“The Verzuz clash is a win overall for black people and black music because at this time we been taking a lot of losses so this Verzuz give us some win win win right thru,” he said.