Lil Jon wins hearts by playing new track in online battle with T-Pain but duo draws flak for R Kelly songs
In the latest of Instagram Live battles, Lil Jon and T-Pain went head-to-head and played some of the best Hip-Hop and R&B music of all time.
Arguably two of the most influential figures in hip hop, both artists were bound to have some amazing music - both classic and modern - to share with their listeners. And given that at one point there were over 230,000 viewers, they had quite a crowd to please.
The two went back and forth playing some of the greatest hits including Kanye 'Good Life', Usher's 'Yeah', Ciara's 'Goodies', Daddy Yankee's 'Gasolina', Jamie Foxx's 'Blame It', LMFAO's 'Shots' and many more, and even played an unreleased track from Lil Jon featuring Usher and penned by Jermaine Dupri. For anyone from the '90s and early 2000s, this was probably the best live stream performance to date.
The fact that the party was so lit, a Netflix check-in was a shock to everyone including Lil Jon and T-Pain, who appeared visibly amused when the streaming service dropped by to comment. One Twitter user shared a screenshot of the moment, adding, "You know the Lil Jon vs T-Pain IG live battle is when Netflix checks in"
But at some point, things started to take a turn. For one, as seems to be the case with most streams that play classic hip hop, Chris Brown's songs found their way into it. Unfortunately, while his past crimes are horrific and continue to haunt him in the form of those who do not believe he was ever held accountable for them, most still find it hard to deny that he has contributed significantly to music. One user states, "chris brown could drop 20 trash albums in a row it will never erase what he’s contributed to music, arguably one of the most talented and gifted entertainers in the history of music," and whether we like it or not, that is true.
Additionally, both Lil Jon and T-Pain have worked with most of the artists whose music they played, so it's hard to draw a line on whether it's acceptable for them to play their own music even if it was sung by an artist with a problematic past.
However, things got objectively worse. As one user says, "Lil Jon and T-Pain hitting us with the anti-vaxxer, sexual predator 1-2 punch within 10 minutes of each other." That's right, our two iconic hip hop and rap legends urged fans to stay away from vaccinations and unfortunately, and are apparently completely fine playing the music of a man accused of several instances of sexual assault and rape, including the assault of minors. And not everyone was happy about it.
Many fans jumped ship at this point, stating they were really into the battle until then but this was not something they were going to tolerate. One stated, "Lil Jon anti vaxin and T-Pain playing R Kelly...this is the part of the family function where my Uncles start saying questionable stuff and I'm ready dip!" to which many others responded in agreement, adding that was when they left the virtual party as well.
Another fan said, "That was unfortunate but I also understand being proud of your own work," highlighting both Lil Jon and T-Pain have worked with R Kelly in the past and were simply playing their own music as part of their own live battle. But another user retorted, "He could’ve just played his verse. The chorus was not necessary."