Tyga has confirmed that he used AI as a “tool” on his new album ‘$tarface’ and said he doesn’t care if some listeners object to it.
The Californian rapper released his ninth studio album on July 31, with the record taking in influences from ’80s synthpop as the artist adopts his new $tarface persona.
Some fans had speculated that some of the electronic sounds might have been made with AI, and now Tyga has confirmed those rumours in an interview with Vibe.
“I’ve never spoken on this with anybody because I always felt like it’s similar to a magician explaining how he does his tricks,” Tyga said. “Like why are people overexplaining how they make shit that’s good? If you like it, you like it; if you don’t, you don’t. I don’t care. It’s supposed to give you an experience and a feeling.”
He continued: “But we definitely used AI as a [tool]. And I know people are going to be mad about me saying this, but it’s where technology is going. It’s no different than when Auto-Tune came out. Some people were opposed to it, but real artists took it and used it.”
When asked where the AI was used, he replied: “We were like, you know what? I need some ’80s synths for a certain part of this song. I need a guitar solo done ASAP. It is what it is.”
Tyga did go on to clarify that production on the album and “all the vocals” were created without AI.
The use of AI continues to be one of the most contentious topics in music today. Earlier this week, Empire Of The Sun’s Luke Steele said that “of course” he uses AI in his music, calling it “just another tool” and comparing it to “a really smart guitar pedal”.
“I think you’ve got to be careful, you know? ‘Cause it’s so powerful that the AI is going to empower artists that know how to use it, and they’re going to become unstoppable,” he said. “So the artists that are against it: I think you’ve gotta be careful, you know? Because it’s going to come and swallow you like a boogie monster at night.”
Boy George also said he used AI to help write his pro-Israel reggae song ‘We Will Dance Again’, which eventually led to it being removed from Bandcamp for violating its AI rules.
Others, including Mac DeMarco, SZA and Lorde, have been far more critical of the growing influence of AI, with Jack Antonoff slamming musicians who use it as “godless whores”.
Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter also recently spoke out against it, describing AI as “a way to bypass the creative process”.
Earlier this year, Apple Music shared plans to let users know if they were listening to music that had been made using AI. This followed a study last year that revealed that 97 per cent of people “can’t tell the difference” between real and AI-created music.
Deezer recently revealed that AI-generated music now surpassed 50 per cent of daily uploads on the platform. In June, TIDAL confirmed that it would not be paying royalties for any music made entirely by artificial intelligence.
This summer, various music industry bodies from around the globe wrote an open letter calling on artists and songwriters to offer consent before going into any AI deals. Major acts such as Paul McCartney, Kate Bush, Dua Lipa and Elton John previously led a campaign urging the government to protect musicians’ work.
