Drake's AI-generated diss track has landed Canadian rapper in legal trouble

Drake 's recent diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar has landed the rapper in hot water. The estate of Tupac Shakur is threatening legal action over the unauthorised use of an AI-generated version of the late rapper's voice.

In a cease-and-desist letter obtained by various media outlets, Howard King, a litigator representing Tupac's estate, called Drake's " Taylor Made Freestyle " a "flagrant violation of Tupac's publicity and the estate's legal rights." The letter demands that Drake remove the track within 24 hours or face potential legal consequences.

"Blatant abuse of legacy," says estateThe letter states that the estate is "deeply dismayed and disappointed" by Drake's unauthorised use of Tupac's voice and personality, calling it a "blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time."

"The Estate would never have given its approval for this use," King wrote, adding that the use of Tupac's voice against Kendrick Lamar, whom the estate considers a friend who has shown respect to Tupac's legacy, "compounds the insult."

Drake’s diss on Kendrick Lamar had AI-generated vocals of Tupac and Snoop Dogg Released on April 19, "Taylor Made Freestyle" was Drake's latest salvo in his ongoing feud with Kendrick Lamar. The track featured AI-generated vocals meant to sound like Tupac and Snoop Dogg taking shots at Lamar.

In addition to potential publicity rights violations, King's letter also suggests that the AI model used to create the Tupac vocals may have violated copyrights by "training" on existing recordings of the rapper's music.

While Snoop Dogg has not publicly commented on the issue, the Tupac estate's response suggests that unauthorised use of an artist's likeness could face legal challenges.

Drake's history with AIAI has repeatedly mimicked the voices of deceased artists like Tupac and Freddie Mercury, and even the living ones like Taylor Swift and Kanye to create renditions of other artists' songs have been opposed.

Ironically, Drake has previously spoken out against AI-generated music, particularly in the case of the viral song "Heart on My Sleeve," which featured an AI-generated version of his voice. However, his use of AI-generated vocals on "Taylor Made Freestyle" seems to contradict his earlier stance.