In an unexpected turn of events, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta’s CEO, has released an acoustic cover of the infamous 2002 rap hit “Get Low” by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz featuring the Ying Yang Twins. The collaboration, dubbed “Z-Pain” (a nod to both Zuckerberg and T-Pain, the legendary auto-tune king), is a mix of cringeworthy humor and surprisingly decent musical performance — a far cry from the usual corporate presentations we’re used to seeing from tech moguls.
A Personal Tribute Turns Into a Viral Moment
Zuckerberg’s connection to “Get Low” goes beyond just being a fan of the song. In a Instagram post, he shared that he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have a tradition of listening to the track every year to mark the anniversary of when they started dating. At a college party years ago, it was this song that played during the fateful moment when the two first crossed paths. This year, however, Zuckerberg decided to take things up a notch.
Instead of simply playing the track, he teamed up with T-Pain, a long-time collaborator known for his autotune-heavy hits, to craft an acoustic version of the raunchy anthem. Yes, you read that correctly: Zuckerberg and T-Pain slowed down the tempo and gave “Get Low” a mellow, guitar-strumming makeover. It’s exactly as surreal as it sounds.
The Surreal and Hilarious Sound of “Z-Pain”
The final product is nothing short of bizarre. Zuckerberg earnestly sings along to some of the song’s most infamous lyrics, including the notorious lines “To the window, to the wall, ‘til the sweat drop down my balls.” The lewd lyrics take on a whole new life when slowed down and sung with the kind of serious acoustic vibe typically reserved for indie folk songs. T-Pain and Zuckerberg also give the words an exaggerated enunciation, which makes the vulgarity of the lyrics even more pronounced.
Despite the absurdity of the concept, Zuckerberg actually pulls off the performance decently. His pitch is surprisingly on point, and it’s clear he’s having fun with the whole thing. Whether it’s the autotune magic or a genuine attempt at creating something entertaining, the “Z-Pain” collaboration is certainly more listenable than you might expect. In fact, it’s arguably less cringe-worthy than some other high-profile CEO performances.
A Long History of CEO Music Missteps
Let’s be honest: Z-Pain is not the first time a tech mogul has tried to make music. Other attempts at corporate musical creativity have been far less successful. For instance, Venture capitalist Tim Draper once performed a song about Bitcoin at Paris Blockchain Week, rhyming “Satoshi Nakamoto” with “Perfect-o” — a performance that many found embarrassing at best. Canva, the design platform, even went so far as to commission choreographed songs about enterprise SaaS (Software as a Service), which, let’s face it, probably didn’t have the same widespread appeal as Zuckerberg’s remix.
And Zuckerberg himself has been involved in a number of quirky projects, including the infamous “Facebook Benefits Enrollment Musical”, a strange production that took place both on Zoom and within the metaverse, as part of Facebook’s internal employee programs. So, in comparison to these ventures, Z-Pain isn’t exactly the worst thing Zuckerberg has done in the name of “innovation.”
Is “Z-Pain” Really That Bad?
As awkward and out-of-left-field as it may seem, Zuckerberg’s acoustic cover of “Get Low” could be considered somewhat of a guilty pleasure. It’s undeniably cringey, but it’s also undeniably funny. Zuckerberg and T-Pain don’t take themselves too seriously, and that lightheartedness might actually be part of the appeal.
Of course, the idea of a tech CEO diving headfirst into a lewd hip-hop anthem is bound to raise some eyebrows. However, considering how the corporate world has seen far more awkward, tone-deaf performances from CEOs, “Z-Pain” could be viewed as a strange but harmless experiment in self-aware, viral content.
In the end, is it any worse than metaverse avatars singing about dental insurance in a Facebook benefits video? Probably not. So, while it might not be the next big hit, Zuckerberg’s “Get Low” acoustic cover is a quirky moment in tech culture that has, at the very least, succeeded in giving us all something to laugh about.