Tupac's Estate Is Not Happy With Drake

Estate says Drake must remove song using AI-generated version of Tupac's voice
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 25, 2024 2:00 AM CDT
Tupac's Estate Is Not Happy With Drake
FILE - In this June 27, 2015 file photo, Drake performs on the main stage at Wireless festival in Finsbury Park, London.   (Photo by Jonathan Short/Invision/AP, File)

Among the rappers Drake now has beef with: Tupac Shakur, or at least the late rapper's estate. Drake last week released a diss track targeting Kendrick Lamar, and AI software was used to produce a verse that sounds like it was sung by Shakur (another AI-generated verse sounds like Snoop Dogg), NBC News reports. Per the Guardian, which has an explainer of the Drake-Kendrick Lamar beef, the AI versions of Shakur and Snoop criticize Lamar's "cowardice" on the track, which is called "Taylor Made Freestyle" and suggests Lamar (whom Drake has previously dissed for collaborating with Taylor Swift) has been staying quiet lately to avoid being overshadowed by Swift's new album. Shakur's estate says the track must be taken down.

"The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac's voice and personality," a lawyer for the case says in a Wednesday cease-and-desist letter to Drake that was obtained by Billboard. "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." If Drake fails to remove the track within 24 hours, the estate says it will "pursue all legal remedies" against him. (More Drake stories.)

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