Snoop Lion and T.I. Talk Gun Violence at BET Experience in Los Angeles [VIDEO]

Many have complained that rap music is problematic because it serves as a bad influence for younger listeners. Perhaps understanding that rap can just as easily work in the opposite direction, Snoop Lion and T.I. sat down to discuss the dangers of guns and combat gun violence during the BET Experience over the weekend.

The panel on gun control and violence also hosted Maxine Waters, a Congressional representative from California. Both Lion and T.I. brought more than their influence to the table, as both have also done jail time for weapons-related offenses.

Snoop said he was "fed up" with gun violence.

"Once I've seen, you know, public venues and little elementary schools being shot, you know, with innocent kids, it started to affect me to where it's, like, this is not just a hood situation," he said. "This is an everyday situation. . . . And we need to address this."

Snoop is perhaps best known for his work on some fairly violent "gangsta rap" back in the day, such as "Doggystyle" and Dr. Dre's "The Chronic." He's shifted his tune in recent years, releasing the reggae-influenced "Reincarnated" in 2013, featuring the track "No Guns Allowed."

T.I. has also had legal run-ins involving weapons, but perhaps more relevant was losing the man he called his "best friend" to a gunshot following a Cincinnati concert in 2006. Philant Johnson was killed by bullets the rapper believed were meant for him. The rapper went to prison in 2009 on separate gun charges.

"I think we all need to hold one another accountable," he said.

Waters told the rappers that youth "won't listen to us (the older generation), but they'll listen to you."