Drake Deletes Tupac’s AI-Generated Song After Shakur’s Estate Threatens to Sue

Drake apparently learned that it’s not wise to mess with Tupac Shakur — even decades after his untimely death. billboard first noticed that the Canadian hip-hop artist deleted the X (Twitter) post with his song “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which used an AI-generated recreation of Shakur’s voice to try to get under Kendrick Lamar’s skin.

The takedown came after a lawyer representing the late hip-hop legend threatened to sue the Canadian rapper for “unauthorized” use of Tupac’s voice if he didn’t remove it from social channels within 24 hours. However, the song was online for a week and – unsurprisingly – was reposted profusely.

“The estate is deeply troubled and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and persona,” Howard King, the attorney representing Shakur’s estate, wrote earlier this week in a cease-and-desist letter acquired from billboard. “The recording is not only a gross violation of Tupac’s publicity and legal rights of the estate, but also a gross abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.” The estate would never give its approval for this use.

King implied that using Shakur’s voice to insult Lamar was particularly grossly disrespectful. Lamar, a 17-time Grammy and Pulitzer winner, has talk often of his deep admiration for Tupac, and the Oakland rapper’s estate says the feelings are mutual. “The unauthorized, equally disturbing use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend of the estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the offense,” King wrote in a cease and desist letter.

Drake’s song also featured an AI-generated clone of Snoop Dogg’s voice. The Dog style the rapper and cannabis lover appeared surprised in a social post last week: “What did they do? When? how? Are you sure?” He continued, “Why is everyone calling my phone and blasting me? What the hell? What happened? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed. Good night.”

The one-off though Doggy Fizzle Televizzle the host has a history of poker-faced restraint. Last year, he appeared on Instagram solemnly I announce he was “rejecting smoke”, leading to rampant speculation as to why the stoner icon would quit his favorite pastime. Soon after, his message was revealed as a PR stunt for the Solo Stove – which, marketing gimmicks aside, makes great fire logs.