Jorge Junior Criticizes Cuban Artists Over AI Tribute to El Taiger: "Creating a Video Without Permission"

Jorge Junior, the leader of the group Los 4 and cousin of the late reggaeton artist El Taiger, has once again sparked controversy. On Friday, he took to Facebook to criticize several Cuban urban music artists for their involvement in the posthumous tribute titled "The Best of All Time."

The controversy erupted with the release of a collaborative track featuring the voices of Lenier, Helabusador, Seidy La Niña, El Yonki, El Micha, Yomil, Chocolate MC, and Rey Tony, produced using artificial intelligence. The video quickly amassed over 120,000 views since its debut on October 21.

Jorge Junior expressed his frustration, stating, "They are taking the easy way out, making a song for El Taiger without permission and creating a video with AI. Knowing that such a tribute wouldn't have existed while he was alive," he posted publicly, choosing not to directly name the artists involved.

The musician cautioned that his patience is wearing thin and hinted at reigniting past conflicts: "Soon I'll confront a few because the last time I did, everything went quiet; none of those I sought out showed up. Yes, I'm referring to Miami and Los 4 again."

Concurrently, Jorge Junior made it clear that some peers were not targets of his criticism: "Osmany Garcia, Lore, Chacal, Único, Jacobo, Zurdo, Adonis are brothers I haven't seen in years, sending love from afar," he clarified within the same post.

Jorge Junior concluded his message with a bold statement directed at his adversaries: "Tell the mortals that the gods are back. I am the real street artist."

This isn't the first time El Taiger's cousin has been involved in such a dispute. In October 2024, shortly after the artist's passing, Jorge Junior demanded the removal of El Taiger's image from the "Papita Frita" music video—featuring Lenier, Oniel Bebeshito, and Tekashi 6ix9ine—arguing that the family had not been consulted.

Bebeshito defended the song as a legitimate tribute, while in November of the same year, El Taiger's mothers and children also clashed with Jorge Junior over the same issue.

This pattern repeats with the latest collective homage, underscoring a persistent tension over who holds the moral and familial authority to honor the deceased reggaeton artist.

El Taiger, whose real name was José Manuel Carvajal Zaldívar, was shot in Miami on October 3, 2024, and succumbed to his injuries a week later at Jackson Memorial Hospital, at the age of 37. The release of "The Best of All Time" came just weeks after the second anniversary of his death, observed on October 10.