"They not even in the same league" — Fans react to Fat Joe comparing Chris Brown to Michael Jackson

Rapper Fat Joe heaped praise on R&B singer and rapper Chris Brown, claiming he would be on par with Michael Jackson if not for the controversy surrounding his physical assault on Rihanna in 2009.

In an Instagram Live session on June 16, 2024, Fat Joe called Brown "the most talented singer, artist, performer, hit maker" of the present generation, adding:

“If Chris Brown never got into the controversy with Rihanna we would be calling him Michael Jackson right now. He is the most talented singer, artist, performer, hit maker of our time. There’s nobody even close to Chris Brown, and it’s time we move past it.”

Fat Joe's remarks about Chris Brown did not resonate with most netizens on social media, who deemed it unfair to compare the rapper to Michael Jackson. One person tweeted:

Some people claimed that Michael Jackson was on a different level of talent and stardom that was inimitable.

"No slim Joe. MJ had women literally fainting in his presence. Waiting in line days in advance for him to make an appearance or to buy tickets before they were sold out. Chris Brown is a legend in the game for sure. MJ is just on a different level," wrote one person.

"Michael Jackson is like the second most popular human of All Time after Jesus We have to accept that is levels to this Drake n Chris Brown can be great in their own right. Stop comparing to this man," added another person.

"I disagree…Chris Brown is great but he’s no MJ…It was no streams or social media in MJ day. He was Star since he was a child. Magical voice MJ’s music was truly global and resonated throughout different cultures," tweeted someone else.

"Never compare CEO Michael Jackson with his employees," added another person.

However, a select few agreed with Fat Joe's points, praising Chris Brown for his versatility:

"I agree. CB was doing commercials, appearing in movies, he was on his way up. Then when the Rihanna situation happened, he never quite recovered from that, maybe because he turned into a bad boy after that. He still is doing his thing," wrote one person.

"This is a legitimate point that I have said for years. When Exclusive came out, he was damn near unstoppable but when you young and hot headed, you tend to f*ck up. And that’s his story. He still quite a successful artist but he could’ve been so much more," added another.

"I mean, I get what he's saying. Chris Brown had the potential to be the biggest artist in the world, but his controversy with Rihanna and all of his incidents afterward prevented him from ever really reaching his full potential," tweeted someone else.

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Fat Joe claimed Chris Brown could "battle Michael Jackson"

Rapper Fat Joe, who had collaborated with Chris Brown on songs like Attention and Another Round, ardently supported Chris Brown on his Instagram Live on Sunday. He said that while fans were "scared" to support him, "the streets" were still by his side.

“When the truth is an unpopular decision, everybody gets scared to say it. They get canceled, especially famous people. But you know the streets they know what it is. Streets always know, they tell you the truth. The streets still bumping R Kelly. He’s in jail, he did terrible things,” he added.

Fat Joe also said that Brown was the "king of R&B" who had the talent to "battle Michael Jackson," mentioning Brown's body of work and the hits he has produced. He added that he did not condone Brown's violence toward Rihanna.

In an earlier Instagram Live on April 25, 2024, Fat Joe likened Chris Brown to the late rapper Tupac Shakur after Brown released his Quavo diss track, Weakest Link, on April 19.

“Of course, the 2Pac of 2024 has to be Chris Brown. Chris Brown is considered an alien. If you playing basketball, he’ll bust your a**. If you sing against him, he sing better, he dance better. If he gotta rap, he raps," Fat Joe said.

Fat Joe also called Weakest Link a "battle rap" track amid the high-profile diss battle between Kendrick Lamar and Drake, with the latter releasing two diss tracks on the same day as Brown's song.

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According to HipHop DX, Chris Brown and Quavo reignited their long-standing feud by exchanging several diss tracks, which began when Brown released Freak on April 11. The following day, Quavo replied with Tender, which saw the former Migos rapper address Brown's numerous alleged domestic violence and drug problems.

Brown fired back with Weakest Link, in which he claimed that he was involved with Saweetie when he was dating Quavo.

“You f*cked my ex-ho, that’s cool, I don’t give no f*ck, lil n*gga/ ‘Cause I f*cked yo’ ex when you were still with her, b*tch, I’m up, lil n*gga,” he rapped.

On April 22, Quavo dropped Over Hoes & B*tches, in which he brought up Brown's 2009 assault on Rihanna.