Swizz Beatz and Timbaland Partner With Lena Waithe for Documentary Exploring Rise of ‘Verzuz’

The story of Verzuz is about to get a whole lot bigger. 

Swizz and Timbaland are joining forces with Amazon Studios, Lena Waithe and her production company Hillman Grad Productions, and Good Trouble Studios to deliver a feature-length documentary about Black music, inspired by their hit battle series, Deadline reports. 

Titled Gifted & Black, ^{the doc} will not only tell Verzuz’s origin story, but also explore the roots of Black music through the lens of Black communities and Black musical artists. Per Deadline, it will use “poignant interviews, gripping vérité and magnetic archival footage,” to explore how Black music impacts the culture.​​​​

“When we first started this mission the entire world had hit rock bottom,” Swizz Beatz said in a statement. “People were going through so much and Tim and I felt we should do something to help folks escape. The rest is history, we made the magical call to Hillman Grad because we only wanted people to see the best of the best.”

“Swizz and I are excited to show the world everything that took place behind scenes during the process, while celebrating the artists that helped us build Verzuz,” Timbaland added. “Thank you to our entire team, Hillman Grad, James Adolphus, Ben Selkow, Amazon, Triller, and everyone involved. Verzuz came from our love of culture and our love of music and the fact that it has become the force it is today is way beyond anything Swizz or I could’ve imagined.”

Waithe also touched on how thankful she is to be a part of such an important story.

“I’m grateful to Swizz and Tim for trusting us with something so historic,” Waithe said. “Verzuz is more than just two artists going song-for-song. It’s a testament to the power of Black people. It’s the joyful celebration of legacy that we all needed. With this documentary, we’re excited to take audiences behind the scenes of this global phenomenon, while also paying tribute to the artists that shaped us.”

Waithe also thanked Amazon Studios for backing the project. Gifted & Black has not received a release date yet, but will air on Amazon Prime Video.