Drake has sparked outrage from Tupac’s estate after he used AI to recreate the late rapper’s voice in his new Kendrick Lamar diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle.
The 37-year-old rapper used artificial intelligence to clone the voices of both Tupac and Snoop Dogg in his second diss track against Lamar – and now the late rapper’s estate has sent Drake a cease and desist order asking him to remove the song , thus Rolling stone.
The letter, sent by attorney Howard King, gave Drake 24 hours to track down the trail – or they would take legal action against him.
The use of artificial intelligence was labeled a “blatant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights” and “a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.”
The letter claimed that the estate would “never” have approved Tupac’s AI recreation.
Drake has sparked outrage from Tupac’s estate after using AI to recreate the late rapper’s voice in his new Kendrick Lamar diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle
The song uses artificial intelligence to mimic the voices of both Tupac and Snoop Dogg; Tupac pictured in 1996
The song was released by Drake on Friday, but was dropped via a video on social media, and not on streaming services.
If it had been released on streaming services, it could have earned royalties.
Despite this, the legal brief noted that the song continued to receive significant publicity and listens.
Adding to the outrage was the fact that the song was a diss track against “good friend of the Estate” Kendrick Lamar.
“The unauthorized, equally appalling use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a close friend of the Estate who has shown nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy both publicly and privately, adds insult to injury,” the letter said.
‘That’s hard to believe [Tupac’s record label]’s intellectual property was not scraped to create the fake Tupac AI on the Record,” the letter continues.
King also insists that Drake provide an explanation for “how the sound-alike was created and the individuals or company that created it, including any recordings and other data that was ‘scraped’ or used.”
The letter also noted that the song may have violated publicity rights laws, provisions that “allow for the protection of a person’s likeness,” Rolling Stone reports.
The song was released by Drake on Friday, but was dropped via a video on social media, and not on streaming services; Drake pictured in 2022
Still, the outlet notes that the laws generally protect against the improper use of someone’s likeness rather than against AI problems.
In making his point that the song violated California’s publicity rights law, King stated that the song gives the “false impression that the estate and Tupac are promoting or endorsing the lyrics for the sound-alike.”
Drake’s previous efforts to prevent others from unlawfully using his likeness in the past were also addressed in the letter, which included the 2023 song that also used AI to recreate his voice, Heart on My Sleeve.
The letter claimed that the estate would “never” have approved of Tupac’s AI recreation; the deceased rapper depicted
The song is Drake’s second diss track against Lamar and was dropped on Instagram last week.
“Taylor Made Freestyle,” he captioned the post, adding, “While we wait for you I guess.”
Snoop humorously responded to the song on Instagram, saying to the camera, “They did what? When? How? Are you sure? Have a nice evening everyone.
‘Why is everyone calling my phone and blowing me up? What the f**k? What happened? What is happening? I’m going back to bed. Good night.’
