American Hip Hop legend, Tupac’s estate has threatened to sue Drake for using AI-generated version of the late rapper’s voice in his recent diss track against colleague, Kendrick Lamar.
Pac’s sibling, Mopreme Shakur asked Drake to pull down the diss track in less than 24 hours or the estate would “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him.
In a cease-and-desist letter sent to the ‘Worst Behaviour’ hit-maker through the estate’s litigator, Howard King, it alleges unauthorized use of Tupac’s AI-generated voice on the track, currently available on Drake’s Instagram but not yet on streaming platforms.
Billboard reports that Howard King is demanding that Drake takes down his track “Taylor Made Freestyle” within 24 hours to avoid legal action.
The letter reads; “The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality.
“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 unauthorized, equally dismaying use of 2Pac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the Estate who has given nothing but respect to 2Pac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult.”
Drake stirred controversy last Friday when he released ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’ and used AI-generated versions of the late 2Pac, and Snoop Dogg’ voices.
Tupac’s estate emphasised that even if he had asked for permission it would never have given its approval for this use. Drake has yet to respond or remove the song as at press time.
