Ice Cube knows the value of great writing, and his pen game is as respected as ever. LeBron James cited Cube’s lyrics to commemorate becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in February, and Logic was compelled to cover Ice Cube’s “It Was A Good Day,” which Cube co-signed despite lukewarm (at best) fan reception.
Ice Cube does not co-sign the use of AI in hip-hop, however.
The iconic West Coast rapper visited the Full Send Podcast last week and was asked about “this new wave of rappers,” teeing him up to give a scathing review of AI.
Ice Cube’s thoughtful response began at the 47:35 mark:
“I like the beats. The artists are getting lost in autotunes, and now that you have an AI computer, I think people don’t want a computerized rapper no more. They want to hear your voice. I don’t know any rappers by they voice no more. I used to know all the rappers just – hear they voice, know who that is.
I think they need to figure out how to put that autotune down, and we need to hear what people sound like and if they’re as good because I think AI is demonic. I think AI is gonna get a backlash from real people — real, organic people — and so I think artists need to go back to using their real voice and making sure people know this is authentic and not made from a computer.”
When asked whether he was implying all artists now use AI, Ice Cube clarified, “I think autotune sounds computer-like, and I think it’s all starting to sound artificial because of AI.”
In case there was any remaining confusion regarding Ice Cube’s stance on AI, he later plainly stated: “I don’t want to hear an AI Drake song. I don’t want to hear that bullsh*t, and he should sue whoever made it.”
And if anyone dares to make an AI Ice Cube song, “I’m gonna sue the motherf*cker who make it, too, and the platform that plays it.”
Sting and will.i.am are among other artists who have shared their opinions on AI.
Watch Ice Cube’s full Full Send episode above.