Ashanti Explains Awkward 'Verzuz' Moment Where She Had to Tell Keyshia Cole It Was Her Turn

There was an awkward moment during Ashanti and Keyshia Cole's 'Verzuz' battle where Cole tried to play another record when it was Ashanti's turn.

January 29, 2021

Ashanti and Keyshia Cole’s long-awaited Verzuzwasn’t without hiccups. In addition to Cole being late, there was also an awkward moment where Ashanti had to check her because Keyshia was about to play a record when it was Ashanti’s turn.

“I think what happened is [Cole] got confused,” Ashanti explained on the Breakfast Club on Friday. “I don’t know if they lost count but what happened was obviously it’s the first 10 records. So when she played “Heaven Sent,” I guess she thought she was ending that batch of 10 but she didn’t realize it was number 11. So for me, I gotta answer her so I’m gonna answer her with my number 11. And then we gonna start the next set and it’s gonna be nine. So I think she kinda forgot and she kinda lost count."

"And for me," she went on, "it’s like I’m not gonna just sit there. I have to play another record, otherwise it wouldn’t count.”

The singers’ Verzuz was canceled the first time due to Ashanti contracting COVID-19, from which she fully recovered. It seems she isn’t positive she’ll take the vaccine—not yet at least. “As far as getting the vaccine, I’m not sure about that. I feel like I need to see a little bit more, some more studies and some time has to go by,” she said.

She also discussed getting checks from Verzuz's sponsors Ciroc and Doritos. “I’m very grateful for my team,” she said. “That obviously was another part of the business side of doing it. You reach out to sponsors, sponsors are gonna be down and you make sure the checks are collected. It’s part of the game.” It seems, though, that Cole didn’t receive any sponsorship money.

Ashanti later said she and Cole are “cool” and that there isn’t a feud between them, adding that “everybody tries to make females beef.”

Elsewhere, Ashanti touched on whether she was confident in her catalog when approached to do the face-off. “A million percent. I’ve been blessed enough to have records that hit Billboard charts and sit on No. 1 and make history and all that.”

It appears doing the Verzuz gave her a push to rethink how she makes and shares music, with her explaining that the platform was a good way to springboard her into the habit of making music and putting it out.