The estate of Tupac Shakur has issued a cease and desist letter to Drake, requesting the removal of “Taylor Made Freestyle,” the Kendrick Lamar diss track that the rapper unconventionally released which features a verse from an AI-generated rendition of the iconic late rapper.
Rolling Stone obtained the letter, which was sent out on Wednesday (April 24) by the estate’s lawyer Howard King. The letter alleges that Drake’s use of AI Tupac was unauthorized and is a “flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights.” It also asserts that the act is disrespectful to Shakur’s legacy and threatens legal action if the song is not taken down within 24 hours.
King remarked that the song garnered over one million streams and sparked a daily media uproar across “major national press outlets and popular entertainment websites and publications.” King also expressed the estate’s disapproval of the unauthorized use of Tupac’s vocals to slight Kendrick Lamar. King stressed that Lamar is “a close friend to the Estate who has consistently shown respect for Tupac and his legacy, both publicly and privately.”
“Taylor Made Freestyle” also features artificial vocals of Snoop Dogg, who playfully responded to the act in an Instagram reel on the same day as the song’s release. The song was released on the “Push Ups” rapper’s Instagram last Friday (April 19) and has not been released on any streaming platform.
The cease and desist letter brings attention to a growing concern within the ongoing rap feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. The concern revolves around the potential impact of artificial intelligence and voice cloning on hip-hop culture, specifically focusing on how it may affect the authenticity of artistic projects, particularly in terms of lyrical ability.
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As AI becomes more involved in the creative process, there is apprehension about its influence on rap music, which has traditionally been driven by individual creativity. This has led to mixed emotions regarding AI-generated works, with a general reluctance toward technologically curated lyrics within the competitive landscape of hip-hop’s rap element.
Legally, copyright issues are a key concern as AI technology refers to copyrighted works as a training knowledge base. This is at the center of Tupac’s estate concerns. King questioned in the letter “how the sound-alike was created and the persons or company that created it, including all recordings and other data ‘scraped’ or used.” If the AI technology uses copyrighted works of Tupac to respond to prompts involving the likeness of the late artist without approval from his estate, the estate is likely to miss out on receiving a form of monetary compensation.
King also mentioned potential violations of publicity laws, as the act could encroach on the protection of Shakur’s likeness. However, publicity laws mainly pertain to images and not artificially created media. King finds the act so objectionable that it qualifies as a violation under California publicity laws and believes it promoted a false impression of the estate’s approval and Tupac’s endorsement of the artificially cloned vocals.
Drake’s Instagram still hosts the three-minute and fifty-one-second diss track, and has yet to be removed. The song has resurfaced on audio-friendly platforms like YouTube through various channels, cleverly disguised as lyric videos, creating additional work for Tupac Shakur’s estate. However, the arrival of a cease and desist letter has altered the dynamics of the rap showdown.
