News of April 19, 2024
Rap Feud via AI: Drake Uses Tupac Voice on "Taylor Made Freestyle"
In his feud with Kendrick Lamar, Drake has an AI voice of Tupac rap-a move that brings critics and the estate onto the scene.
On April 19, 2024, Drake resorted to an unusual tactic in the rap feud: his song “Taylor Made Freestyle,” aimed at Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift, begins with artificially generated voices that sound like Tupac and Snoop Dogg.
An AI Challenges the West Coast
In it, the AI Tupac voice calls on Lamar to lead the West Coast. Snoop Dogg is alive; Tupac died in 1996.
Double Standards and the ELVIS Act
On X, reactions were mixed: some found the move tasteless, while others defended it as a play in the rap feud. In a commentary, Billboard called it “chutzpah” and pointed out that Drake himself had previously objected to AI imitations of his own voice.
In the United States, legislation protecting voices is being debated; Tennessee had just passed the ELVIS Act. A few days later, the estate took legal action; see the report of April 24.