Amazon‘s Prime Video is doubling down on its commitment to music-flavored content. Because the streamer will play host to a new documentary powered by Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, and Lena Waithe.
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The trio has joined forces for ‘Gifted & Black.’
Directed by James Adolphus, the special is inspired by Swizz and Timbaland’s success with Verzuz. As well as chronicling the runaway success of the battle platform, the doc will deep dive into the “traditions of Black music to connect, going from the plantation to the Pulitzer Prize.”
Emmy winner Waithe is on-board as producer under her Hillman Grad Productions imprint. Swizz and Timbaland also serve as executive producers too.
Speaking on ‘Gifted & Black,’ Waithe said in a statement:
“I’m grateful to Swizz and Tim for trusting us with something so historic. 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. We could not be more grateful to Amazon for seeing the vision, and this film wouldn’t be possible without our amazing filmmakers, James Adolphus and Ben Selkow. They have flown to every city, interviewed every artist, and continue to capture history as it happens. We can’t wait for the world to see how this whole thing comes together.”
Swizz added:
“When we first started this mission the entire world had hit rock bottom. 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.”
Timbaland said:
“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. 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.”
Matt Newman, co-head of movies at Amazon Studios concluded:
“The launch of Verzuz reminded us of the multigenerational excitement for music ‘battles,’ which gave us the escape we all craved in 2020. We are thrilled to work with Hillman Grad, Good Trouble, Swizz Beatz, and Timbaland to give audiences a behind-the-scenes look at the building of the Verzuz franchise.”
