“Taylor Made Freestyle”the controversial song published by drake On April 22, he disappeared from the rapper’s social networks. The song included voices of Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg generated by artificial intelligence models. However, this idea was not well received by Tupac’s family, which led to them submitting a letter warning the controversial Canadian producer of possible legal action. “Your estate administrators would never approve this use.”the text argued.
The conflict arose when “Taylor Made Freestyle” was uploaded to Drake’s Instagram account (@Champagnepapi) as a ‘diss track’ or ‘tiradera’ against Kendrick Lamar. On Wednesday, April 25, Billboard reported that Tupac’s estate had communicated to Drake the need to remove the track within 24 hours through a cease and desist letter.
In the letter signed by the lawyer Howard King representative of Tupac’s heirs, it was argued that the song was a “flagrant violation” of heritage rights and an “abuse” of the legacy of the musician responsible for hits like “California Love” and “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.” The document also expressed the “dismay and disappointment” from Tupac’s relatives and Drake was warned about the legal consequences he could face if the track was not removed within the established time.
“Taylor Made Freestyle” had been positioned as the most recent chapter in an exchange of “shootings” between Drake and the rapper Kendrick Lamar. Within the composition, lines attributed to Tupac and Snoop Dogg were critical of Lamar, which was also mentioned in the letter, underscoring the respectful relationship Lamar has maintained with Tupac’s legacy both publicly and privately.
On the other hand, the incident has brought to light the legal loopholes that exist regarding the use of AI technology to recreate voices of living or deceased personalities. The Shakurs’ lawyer mentioned, for example, that Drake himself had objected to the cloning of his voice via artificial intelligence in a track that went viral on social networks. Track Heart on My Sleeve It also included an imitation of the voice of The Weeknd.
“You personally know well both the rights of publicity and the laws that protect them; and He also knows the damage that unauthorized AI impersonations can cause to artists“King argued in the letter sent to the rapper.
The Shakurs They had also requested that Drake send written confirmation of the track’s removal. They also urged him to explain how the similarity of sound had been “created, the person and company responsible for it, and the recordings or data used to instruct the artificial intelligence model.”
So far, no additional public statements have been issued by Drake’s legal representatives or Tupac Shakur’s estate on the matter.
This is not the first time that Tupac’s voice has been used in a posthumous musical theme. Previously, Kendrick Lamar incorporated the rapper’s voice in the song “Mortal Man”but to do so he extracted audio fragments from an interview with Tupac in 1994. The cuts were edited to make it sound as if Lamar was having a conversation with the late musician.
