Drake is complying with Tupac’s estate after he was sent a cease and desist letter for using AI to recreate the late rapper’s voice in his Kendrick Lamar diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle.
After taking down the track on his social media accounts on Friday, the rapper, 37, and his team are also reportedly working with Tupac’s estate to get the song removed from all other platforms online.
Drake gave no explanation for removing the song from his Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, account.
According to TMZ, his team and representatives have been in direct contact with the late rap star’s estate after receiving the cease and desist demands on Wednesday and have had multiple, productive discussions.
This comes after attorneys for Tupac’s estate sent out a letter to Drake for the ‘flagrant violation’ and for insulting Lamar, who they said was ‘a good friend to the Estate’ and ‘has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately.’
Drake is complying with Tupac’s estate after he was sent a cease and desist letter for using AI to recreate the late rapper’s voice in his Kendrick Lamar diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle. After taking down the track on his social media accounts on Friday, the rapper, 37, and his team are also reportedly working with Tupac’s estate to get the song removed from all other platforms online
His team and representatives have been in direct contact with the late rap star’s estate after receiving the cease and desist demands on Wednesday and have had multiple, productive discussions
They also set a 24-hour deadline to remove the song and explain how the soundalike was created, including what recordings were used to recreate Tupac’s voice with AI.
The letter added that the estate was ‘deeply dismayed and disappointed’ by the unauthorized usage as it was ‘a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.’
Last week, Drake dropped Taylor Made Freestyle, which used artificial intelligence to clone both Tupac and Snoop Dogg’s voices in his second diss track against Lamar.
On Wednesday, the late rapper’s estate has sent Drake a cease and desist letter seeking the removal of the song, according to Rolling Stone.
Sent by attorney Howard King, the letter gave Drake 24 hours to take the track down or else they would pursue legal action against him.
The letter claimed the estate ‘would have never’ approved of the AI recreation of Tupac.
Last week, Drake dropped Taylor Made Freestyle, which used artificial intelligence to clone both Tupac and Snoop Dogg ‘s voices in his second diss track against Lamar
He sparked the outrage of Tupac’s estate and was sent a ceast and desist letter for doing so
The letter claimed the estate ‘would have never’ approved of the AI recreation of Tupac; Tupac pictured in 1996
The song was released by Drake on Friday but was dropped via a video on social media and not on streaming services.
Had it been released on streaming services, it could have garnered royalties.
Despite this, the legal letter noted the track still garnered plenty of publicity and listens.
Further causing infuriation was the fact the song was a diss track against ‘good friend to the Estate,’ Kendrick Lamar.
‘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,’ the letter stated.
‘It is hard to believe that [Tupac’s record label]’s intellectual property was not scraped to create the fake Tupac AI on the Record,’ the letter continues.
King also insists Drake provide an explanation for ‘how the sound-alike was created and the persons or company that created it, including all recordings and other data “scraped” or used.’
The letter also noted the song may have violated publicity rights laws, stipulations that ‘allow for the protection of a person’s likeness,’ writes Rolling Stone.
The song was released by Drake on Friday but was dropped via a video on social media, and not on streaming services; Drake pictured 2022
Yet, the outlet notes the laws generally protect against the improper use of someone’s likeness and not so much any AI issues.
In making his point that the song violated California’s publicity rights law, King stated the track gives the ‘false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike.’
Drake’s past attempts to stop others from wrongfully using his likeness in the past were also raised in the letter, which included the 2023 song that also used AI to recreate his voice, Heart on My Sleeve.
The letter claimed the estate ‘would have never’ approved of the AI recreation of Tupac; the late rapper pictured
The song is Drake’s second diss track against Lamar and was dropped on Instagram last week.
‘Taylor Made Freestyle,’ he captioned the post, adding: ‘While we wait on you I guess.’
Snoop reacted to the track in humorous fashion on Instagram, stating to the camera: ‘They did what? When? How? Are you sure? Y’all have a good night.
‘Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the f**k? What happened? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed. Good night.’
