Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, the Rap Battle Buds

Music producer Timbaland was at home drinking wine when he decided to entice (perhaps taunt) his producer friend Swizz Beatz. He posted three videos of himself making music—or playing it while talking about how great it made him feel—to his Instagram feed and tagged his buddy.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, the two had discussed going on tour, playing hits from their catalogs and bringing on collaborators at each stop. Now that Covid-19 had stranded them at home, Timbaland wanted to revive the idea as a virtual concert: “I said, ‘I think we should just do it now.’ ”