Anytime a Verzuz happens, it’s like a family reunion for Black people. The last one with Omarion and Mario were filled with entertaining moments. Most importantly, it reminded us how deep both of their biographies are.
Lost Momentum
The public verdict was that Mario easily won the Verzuz against Omarion. With the spotlight back on him, he felt it was a great opportunity to continue his hot streak with a new single. Just when fans started to care about Mario again, many lost interest when he announced the featuring artist for the single was Tory Lanez.
The public’s reception of the announcement was mainly negative. Many people have “cancelled” Tory Lanez due to his alleged role in the shooting incident involving Megan Thee Stallion, which caused her injury. It didn’t take long for Twitter detectives to dig up old tweets from 2020 from Mario that were in support of Meg.
Aside from all the drama, the song was surprisingly good. In a perfect world, if this song would’ve released a couple of years ago, before they deemed Lanez too controversial; it would’ve instantly been a hit. The way these two softly serenade their respective lovers is magic in a bottle. It’s a shame that this song won’t get the credit that it is deserving of.
To add more fuel to the fire, Mario stood ten toes down on his decision to feature Lanez. He responded with the cop out an answer by saying we should learn to separate art from the artist.
Read the Room
It’s been a while since I’ve seen an artist go out of their way to commit career sabotage. It probably isn’t the best look to work with someone who is an alleged abuser; especially when Black women make up the majority of your fanbase.
I think this is a learning lesson for all artists to be mindful who you work with. As your art will be a reflection of you and yourself as an artist. Be sure to check out Mario’s new song, “Main One”, if you are feeling risky.
