Sheryl Crow believes Drake‘s AI use of Tupac Shakur‘s likeness on “Taylor Made Freestyle” is “hateful.”
Sheryl Crow Blasts Drake for Using an AI Version of Tupac Shakur on “Taylor Made Freestyle”
In an article published by BBC on June 21, singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow provided her very opinionated stance on the ever-increasing use of artificial intelligence in the music industry. At one point during the conversation, which finds the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer referring to AI as a “slippery slope,” Crow blasts Drake in particular for embracing the controversial practice.
She takes heavy exception to the fact that the Toronto megastar featured a computer-generated verse from the late Tupac Shakur to call out Kendrick Lamar on “Taylor Made Freestyle” this past April. In fact, she doesn’t think the forward-thinking yet shocking diss track should have ever seen the light of day.
“You cannot bring people back from the dead and believe that they would stand for that,” Sheryl Crow says about Drizzy’s now-deleted AI song. “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.”
Read More: Are AI Hip-Hop Songs Dangerous? A Look at the New Wave Sparking Debate
Drake’s Use of Artificial Intelligence on “Taylor Made Freestyle” Was a Bold Move
Drake dropped “Taylor Made Freestyle” featuring AI versions of Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur via Instagram at the onset of his battle with Kendrick Lamar this past spring. In an attempt to goad a response from K-Dot, who was notably quiet at the time regarding the beef, the 6 God penned verses in the likeness of the two West Coast icons. In the track below, fake versions of the two can be heard begging Kendrick to respond to the shots Drake threw his way on the diss track “Push Ups.”
While many in the hip-hop space found “Taylor Made Freestyle” to be creative and entertaining, others found the bold chess move disrespectful to Tupac’s legacy and dangerous to the rap game. Snoop himself met the track with a subtle nod of approval but on the flip side, Drake was forced to remove the unauthorized song less than one week after making it public. The song’s removal was prompted by the threat of a lawsuit from Tupac Shakur’s estate.
Read More: Here’s a Rundown of All the Rap Beefs in 2024
Check out how Drake used AI-generated verses from Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg on his Kendrick Lamar diss track, “Taylor Made Freestyle,” below.
