2Pac’s Estate Threatens To Sue Drake For Using A.I. Pac Voice In “Taylor Made” Diss Track
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The use of artificial intelligence in Hip-Hop has blurred lines and confused many listeners, and in a recent case, Tupac Shakur’s estate is asserting things went too far. The estate is threatening to sue Drake over his latest release, “Taylor Made,” a diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar. The song included A.I.-generated verses using 2Pac and Snoop Dogg’s voices.
A cease-and-desist letter was sent to the Toronto rapper on Wednesday (April 24) and obtained exclusively by Billboard. Drake has reportedly been given less than 24 hours to take down the record or the estate will “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him.
“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” litigator Howard King wrote in the letter. “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. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
The letter also acknowledged the Compton rapper’s role in the entire situation, continuing, “The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the Estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult.”
Drizzy released “Taylor Made” last Friday (April 19), which marked his latest response in the ongoing war between him and Kendrick Lamar. Some of the bars using Pac’s fake voice were: “Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast savior/ Engraving your name in some hip-hop history/ If you deal with this viciously/ You seem a little nervous about all the publicity.”
Mopreme Shakur, the brother of late rap icon Tupac Shakur, also blasted the “God’s Plan” rapper for using his family member’s voice in his release. While speaking with TMZ recently, Mopreme expressed he was displeased with Drake for “weaponizing” Pac’s voice in a rap war, likening the move to utilizing a tank or nuclear bomb in a one-on-one battle. He also echoed Suge Knight’s sentiment that 2Pac is not to be used as a “pawn” in a war he’s not a part of.
Prior to “Taylor Made,” Drake shared “Push Ups,” which was the first reply to “Like That” by Future, Kendrick, and Metro Boomin. Revisit both tracks below.
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