At the Billboard Music Awards 1999, two A-list artists collaborated on a live duet that’s still astounding fans to this day. Snoop Dogg joined the LA rap-rock icons Red Hot Chili Peppers on stage for a legendary live rendition of their recent hit single “Scar Tissue,” which was up for Top Rock Single of the Year. But despite the single losing to Creed’s “One,” this flashback, crossover performance has gone down in music history, amassing just under 2 million views to date!
1999 saw The Backstreet Boys win Artist of the Year, Britney Spears win Top New Artist, and Cher’s “Believe” claim the Top Hot 100 Song award. Host Kathy Griffin took a moment to reveal the height of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ fame at this point in their career, having just released their career-defining seventh album, “Californication” that summer, and breaking the record with its lead single “Scar Tissue” spending longer at #1 on the modern rock charts than any other in history; 16 weeks total.
The band certainly toned down their rare breed of on-stage mayhem for this ultra-chill song and performance. Despite Flea staying iconically shirtless for this high-level awards show set, fans have commented that this is perhaps the longest amount of time RHCP’s notoriously topless frontman Anthony Kiedis has kept his clothes on stage; another hilarious record broken in the eyes of some fans.
Packed with warm riffs and calm tones, this uncontroversial excerpt from the band’s already extensive discog isn’t pitch perfect, but raw and real, hiding a psychedelic space blues guitar solo in its midst. Performing this hit were Anthony (then aged 37), guitarist John Frusciante (then 29), bassist Flea (a.k.a. Michael Balzary, 37) and drummer Chad Smith (38).
