Before there were Verzuz... Portrait vs H-Town - 1993

2020 in music was defined by Verzuz battles. We featured several on our site, like Brandy versus Monica, and the chance of a Xscape vs SWV. They were a great chance to see artists square off.

Imagine our pleasant surprise as we worked on the site and we stumbled on this video, showing a verzuz before there was such a thing. On Townsend Television, H-Town and Portrait squared off against each other in 1993. And similar to the current Verzuz battles, it was a great chance for everybody to win. Both artists have been featured on our site recently. Portrait was featured in our Afro Trees review while H-Town released a new single Green Light 713.

The showdown featured four rounds of battles.

In round 1, the artists took on classic R&B. H-Town sang Teddy Pendergrass"s T-KO. Portrait went with The Stylistics and did Break Up to Make UP. Hearing Dino sing and the men moving behind him, it"s hard to compete. Portrait put up some good falsetto, but perhaps it"s too much falsetto.

Round 2 went new school" which is weird watching as even for our site it was still old school. H-Town went with New Edition and Can You Stand the Rain. Portrait performed Between the Sheets by The Isley Brothers. Both solid performances, but the Portrait harmony to end it was too good to miss.

With Round 3, the groups were able to plug their own new singles. H-Town performed Keeping My Composure. Those guys look like they could blow out their hips at any moment with all the pelvic thrusts they did. Portrait pulled out Honey Dip. I like this track better than Keeping My Composure, but the lack of choreography made it feel like it was missing something.

And with Round 4, we get the artists favorite songs. And wait a second" this feels a lot like round 3. Still, to watch H-Town perform Knocking the Boots live is worth it. Such a classic track. Portrait responds with Here We Go and it"s a solid number on its own right.

As we imagine the world returning to normal, you have to wonder what will happen with Verzuz battles. Watching this video from 1993, I think I know where I want Verzuz battles to go. I want to see them back on television, with the artists doing actual performances instead of just playing clips. It"s great seeing two artists let loose, and interact with one another. Who do you think won the battle? Portrait or H-Town?