All Drake wanted to do was have some fun. But even folks on the country side aren’t having his Tupac cosplay. In an interview with BBC, country icon Sheryl Crow expressed her chagrin toward artists using AI in their music. Specifically, Drake’s use of AI to imitate Tupac’s voice on his Kendrick Lamar diss track, “Taylor Made Freestyle.”
“You cannot bring people back from the dead and believe that they would stand for that,” Crow said. “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.”
The track was removed from online shortly after its release, largely in part to Tupac’s estate threatening a lawsuit. However, Crow says that Drake’s actions cannot be undone.
But luckily, she isn’t too shaken up about the possibility of AI creeping into the industry. Especially because artists can do what AI can’t — perform with live with pure, raw vocals and instrumentation.
“AI can do lots of things, but it can’t go out and play live,” Crow said. “So as long as we have live music, as long as we have hands holding a paintbrush, all is not lost.”