Sheryl Crow slams Drake for AI-generated Tupac vocals on ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’
Sheryl Crow isn’t a fan of AI, and she’s made her thoughts on Drake‘s use of the technology clear – see what she had to say below.
Earlier this year, during Kendrick Lamar’s and Drake’s rap feud, the latter released a diss track aimed at Lamar, titled ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’, which featured the AI voices of late West Coast rapper Tupac, and Snoop Dogg.
Now, in a new interview with the BBC, Sheryl Crow has spoken out against the use of AI in music, and Drake’s ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’ in particular. She described the technology as a “slippery slope” and “a betrayal” that “goes against everything humanity is based on”.
Crow revealed that she was first introduced to AI sometime last year when she came across a songwriter who had generated John Mayer‘s vocals for a track: “I know John and I know the nuances of his voice. And there would be no way you’d have been able to tell that he was not singing that song.” She added that she was “terrified” and was “literally hyperventilating”.
Speaking particularly about Drake’s use of AI, Crow said: “You cannot bring people back from the dead and believe that they would stand for that. I’m sure Drake thought, ‘Yeah, I shouldn’t do it, but I’ll say sorry later’. But it’s already done, and people will find it even if he takes it down. It’s hateful. It is antithetical to the life force that exists in all of us.”
Drake was hit with a cease-and-desist letter by Tupac’s estate (per Billboard) shortly after the release of ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’ and was told by litigator Howard King that his diss track must be taken down in less than 24 hours. If not, Tupac’s estate would go ahead and “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him.
‘Taylor Made Freestyle’ has since been taken down from all streaming platforms as well as all of Drake’s social media accounts following lawsuit threat from the estate of the late West Coast rapper.
Since then, Drake and Lamar have dropped a number of disses against one another, with Drake dropping the feud’s most recent track ‘The Heart Part 6’, in which he claimed he fed Lamar false intel. The track hasn’t been popular with fans – recently surpassing 1million dislikes on YouTube.
Most recently Kendrick Lamar performed his first show since the feud, where he performed a number of his Drake disses, ending by performing ‘Not Like Us’ five times.
The post Sheryl Crow slams Drake for AI-generated Tupac vocals on ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’ appeared first on NME.
Surej Singh
NME
