Sheryl Crow has started a highly unlikely feud with Drake over the use of Tupac Shakur’s A-generated voice for a Kendrick Lamar diss track.
The 62-year-old musician took aim at the 37-year-old Canadian rapper – born Aubrey Drake Graham – for using the late 1990s West Coast rapper’s voice for his Taylor Made Freestyle.
She told the BBC: ‘You can’t bring people back from the dead and believe they would stand for that.’
Sheryl took a challenging stance when she said she believes Drake used the “ask for forgiveness” approach, but doesn’t actually see how unethical this is for humanity. Tupac died on September 13, 1996.
She explained: ‘I’m sure Drake was like, “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 deletes it.
Sheryl Crow has started a highly unlikely feud with Drake over the use of an A-generated Tupac Shakur voice for a Kendrick Lamar diss track
The 62-year-old musician targeted the 37-year-old Canadian rapper – born Aubrey Drake Graham – for using the voice of late 1990s West Coast rapper Tupac (pictured in August 1996 – a month before his death) for his Taylormade freestyle
Kendrick can be seen performing at Glastonbury in June 2022
‘It’s hateful. It is contrary to the life force that exists in all of us.’
This isn’t the first time the song has sparked controversy for the same reason Tupac’s estate had threatened a lawsuit over the use of the late rapper’s voice in his Kendrick Lamar diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle.
Drake used artificial intelligence to clone the voices of both Tupac and Snoop Dogg in his second diss track against Lamar — and now the late rapper’s estate has sent Drake a cease and desist order asking him to remove the song, according to reports Rolling stone.
The letter, sent by attorney Howard King, gave Drake 24 hours to track down the trail or face legal action.
The use of artificial intelligence was labeled a “blatant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights” and “a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.”
The letter claimed that the estate would “never” have approved Tupac’s AI recreation.
This isn’t the first time the song has sparked controversy for the same reason Tupac’s estate had threatened to sue over the use of the late rapper’s voice in his Kendrick Lamar diss track, Taylor Made Freestyle.
The song uses artificial intelligence to mimic the voices of both Tupac and Snoop Dogg; Tupac pictured in 1996
The song was released by Drake on Friday, but was distributed via a video on social media, and not via streaming services.
If the film had been released via streaming services, it could have earned royalties.
Despite this, the legal brief noted that the song continued to receive significant publicity and listens.
Adding to the outrage was the fact that the song was a diss track against “good friend of the Estate” Kendrick Lamar.
“The unauthorized, equally appalling use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a close friend of the Estate who has shown nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy both publicly and privately, adds insult to injury,” the letter said.
‘That’s hard to believe [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 that Drake provide an explanation for “how the sound-alike was created and the individuals or company that created it, including any recordings and other data that was ‘scrapped’ or used.”
The letter also stated that the song may violate the Publicity Rights Act, provisions that “allow for the protection of a person’s likeness,” Rolling Stone reported.
The song was released by Drake on Friday, but was dropped via a video on social media, and not on streaming services; Drake pictured in 2022
Still, the outlet notes that the laws generally protect against the improper use of someone’s likeness rather than against AI problems.
In making his point that the song violated California’s publicity rights law, King stated that the song gives the “false impression that the estate and Tupac are promoting or endorsing the lyrics for the sound-alike.”
Drake’s previous efforts to prevent others from misusing his likeness in the past were also addressed in the letter, which included the 2023 song that also used AI to recreate his voice, Heart on My Sleeve.
The letter claimed that the estate would “never” have approved Tupac’s AI recreation; the deceased rapper depicted
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 for you I guess.”
Snoop humorously responded to the song on Instagram, saying to the camera, “They did what? When? How? Are you sure? Have a nice night everyone.
‘Why is everyone calling my phone and blowing me up? What the f**k? What happened? What is happening? I’m going back to bed. Good night.’