The estate of Tupac Shakur has threatened to take legal action against Drake and has asked him to delete a track that includes an AI-generated version of the late rapper’s voice.
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Drake released the song “Taylor Made Freestyle” on his Instagram page on Friday, which contains verses created by AI software mimicking the voices of both Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.
In a cease-and-desist letter, Howard King, who represents Shakur’s estate, has requested that Drake remove the track from all public platforms where it is available.
The letter also states that Drake has until Thursday midday to confirm that he will remove it, or else the estate will “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him.
“Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time,” Mr King wrote.
“The estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
The letter also outlines the estate’s “dismay” regarding the topic of the track, saying Lamar is “a good friend to the estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately” and that this “compounds the insult”.
In the track, the AI-generated voice of Shakur urges Lamar to respond to Drake’s previous diss track about him released several days prior, saying lines like: “Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast saviour / You seem a little nervous about all the publicity / You asked for the smoke, now it seem you too busy for the smoke.”
The letter claims the track and its popularity have created the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike”.
Shakur’s estate is also seeking damages including all profits from the record, which has so far only been posted on Drake’s Instagram page, as well as additional damages for substantial economic and reputational harm caused.
The letter claimed Drake’s non-consensual use of Shakur’s likeness violates Shakur’s right to publicity, an intellectual property right protecting against the misappropriation of somebody’s name or image.
Sky News has contacted representatives of Drake for comment.
The AI-generated voice of prominent rapper Snoop Dogg was also used on the track.
Snoop Dogg posted a video on his Instagram story shortly after the diss track was posted, where he said: “They did what? When? How… What’s going on… I’m going back to bed.”
The use of AI in the music industry has been the subject of heavy debate since last year, when Drake’s own voice was cloned alongside The Weeknd by the artist known as Ghostwriter.
The track was taken down from all platforms shorty after it was released in April.
