The estate of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur has threatened singer Drake with a lawsuit for a recent Kendrick Lamar diss track that allegedly uses an AI-generated voice mimicking the rapper.
Released on his Instagram last Friday, the new Drake song “Taylor Made Freestyle” reportedly used “AI software to generate verses emulating both Shakur and Snoop Dogg,” according to NBC News.
“In a cease-and-desist letter Wednesday, Howard King, an attorney who represents Shakur’s estate, requested that Drake remove the track from all platforms where it is publicly available,” noted the outlet.
“Drake, whose legal name is Aubrey Drake Graham, has until noon Thursday to confirm his cooperation. Otherwise, the estate will ‘pursue all of its legal remedies’ against him, according to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by NBC News,” it added.
“Shakur’s estate seeks damages including all profits from the record, as well as additional damages for substantial economic and reputational harm caused.”
The song “Taylor Made Freestyle” was intended as a diss track against Kendrick Lamar amid their feud. The song has not yet been made available for streaming.
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“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,” King wrote in the letter.
King’s letter further charged that Drake’s track created the “false impression that the Estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike.”
Tupac’s estate said it will be be seeking damages and profits from the
Shakur’s estate seeks damages including all profits from the record, as well as additional damages for substantial economic and reputational harm caused.
“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,” King wrote in the letter.
King also noted in the letter that the song “Heart on My Sleeve” featured an AI voice mimicking Drake that was taken down from streaming services after it went viral.
“Even more recently, no doubt with your approval and possibly even at your request, your record label took down a well-publicized AI imitation of you and the Weeknd with a great deal of news coverage highlighting how damaging the fake was to you,” King wrote.
Neither Drake nor his representatives have commented on the matter.
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