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After a couple of postponements, one due to Ashanti’s own COVID diagnosis and another due to structural problems, folks were tired of waiting for these two R&B singers and the whole Verzuz operation to get it together and bring them the battle they had been waiting for.
So on the day of the actual battle, Thursday, January 21, when the two finally met over Instagram Live, in their respective homes, people were not okay with having to wait another hour for Keyshia Cole to be present and accounted for. Fans weren’t the only ones who took issue with her tardiness, Verzuz co-creator Swizz Beatz even hopped in the comment section to remark on disrespectful the lateness was.
After that hour, fans noticed that Cole didn’t come in with the best energy. Instead, she seemed like she had a bit of an attitude.
And instead of denying any of that or pretending that she didn’t hear any of the disappointment, Keyshia Cole decided to address and apologize for it.
During a conversation with her friend and fellow R&B singer Elijah Blake, Cole shared technical issues were the reason she didn’t appear on camera. But she did share that she was present and accounted for at the beginning of the battle.
“I want to apologize for not sitting my a** in that seat. OK? Because I was there and I should’ve sat down. I should’ve just sat in the seat no matter if I felt like the visual wasn’t clear. They said my music wasn’t gonna be right or whatever it was. I think, more so than anything, people wanted me to sit, be present…even though they didn’t know that I was present.”
Cole said OT Genasis, the rapper who initially feuded with Cole over his remake of her song, “Love,” before they made up with one another that Thursday, was the one who told her they needed to fix the internet or she would create another Teddy Riley moment.
Speaking of OT Genasis, after the Verzuz battle, Keyshia’s sister Elite Noel came forward to share her disapproval of the fact that Cole hugged Genasis after her said that he sold their mother, a known addict, crack back in the day.
Keyshia didn’t address her sister specifically but she did say this.
“For him to apologize and for us to work it out. We both apologized. It’s all good. Nobody want to focus on hate and not liking one another for 2021. It’s certain people that you can’t get along with but it’s certain people that it’s good. We on good energy. We on positivity. It’s all good.”
As far as whether or not she had an attitude when she did eventually sit down, Cole said:
“People know I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m Keyshia Cole. That’s just the bottom line. That’s the type of person I am. But once I got there and sat in that seat, I just wanted to hurry up and start. It wasn’t until the third song where I had to pull back and say let me say that I apologize for this. Finally, we’re here and we’re in the groove.”
She also addressed the speculation that she was drunk during the battle.
“I’m also hearing that people think I was sauced up, like I was taking shots the whole time. I don’t even…that’s a known fact that you can’t be sauced up when you’re trying to sing and hit notes. So it wasn’t until the end when I was like, ‘Lemme get a couple shots.’ At the end. It was time to have a good time at that point.”
Keyshia also shared that after doing a million shows throughout the course of her career, she still gets nervous before every show.
You can listen to Keyshia’s full interview in the video below.
