Rubio walks back critique of rapper Pitbull on Twitter

Sen. Marco Rubio looked to extinguish a growing pop-culture firestorm he sparked earlier in the day when he compared Miami-based rapper Pitbull unfavorably to artists like Eminem and Tupac Shakur.

"(Pitbull's) songs are all party songs. There's no message for him, compared to like an Eminem," Rubio told GQ in an interview. "But look, there's always been a role for that in American music. There's always been a party person, but he's a young guy. You know, maybe as he gets older, he'll reflect in his music more as time goes on. I mean, he's not Tupac. He's not gonna be writing poetry."

But on Twitter Monday, the Florida senator looked to assure fans that he still enjoys the "I Know You Want Me" songsmith, also born to Cuban-American parents.

Story about me not liking @pitbull music flat wrong.Have much respect 4 & proud he comes from #305.Read chapter 1 of my book #AnAmericanSon

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 19, 2012

@pitbull makes party music not message music.Always been place for that in #HipHop.As he gets older he will have more 2 say about life.

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) November 19, 2012

The Florida senator, who many believe will seek the 2016 presidential nomination, raised some eyebrows with his detailed critique of rap music during the interview. Rubio said he "came of age" during hip-hop's golden era in the 1990s, and said he enjoyed artists whose music he found insightful.

"The only guy that speaks at any sort of depth is, in my mind, Eminem. He's a guy that does music, that talks about the struggles of addiction and before that violence, with growing up in a broken family, not being a good enough father," Rubio says.

Rubio also said he was encouraged that hip hop had gone more mainstream.

"Hip Hop's 30 years old now and it's crossed over and sort of become indistinguishable from pop music in general," Rubio said. "You know, many people say Nicki Minaj is a rapper, but she's also a singer. Kanye's another guy who's also a rapper, but his songs aren't pure rap anymore."