The Internet loves a good hip-hop feud … so much that they're willing to create one using AI, apparently.
According to Futurism, rumors of a new potential battle between rap artists Lil Wayne and Kendrick Lamar started swirling around after Lamar was chosen for the NFL's upcoming halftime show.
But what really made the so-called feud interesting was the circulation of AI-generated diss tracks purporting to feature Lil Wayne.
For longtime fans, the AI fabrication was easily recognizable as fake, Futurism reported. They quoted one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, who pointed out that the AI failed to successfully mimic Lil Wayne's contemporary sound.
"Lol the AI got 2013 Wayne voice," they joked.
To clear the air, Wayne shared in an interview on The Skip Bayless Show that he "wished [Lamar] all the best and told him he better kill it."
Between this and another AI-generated track that surfaced in April featuring a nearly believable "performance" from Lamar, the hip-hop community has been left feeling frustrated and unsure of what to believe.
The potential to generate believable tracks is also highly concerning to the music industry. Music streamers including Spotify and Apple Music were sued in 2023 by Universal Music Group after finding that a track on the platforms had used AI-generated vocals that closely mimicked those of rapper Drake's.
After that, over 200 artists and singers signed an open letter through the Artist Rights Alliance, calling the uptick in AI an "assault on human creativity" that should be "stopped."
In addition to the music industry, many people have become disillusioned and frustrated with the explosive use of generative AI for other reasons — namely, its massive consumption of energy and natural resources.
To keep generative AI running requires the use of enormous banks of computers, which are housed in warehouses that consume staggering amounts of electricity and water. And when these programs are used for dangerous or simply pointless pursuits, like generating fake rap diss tracks, people have been left wondering whether they're worth the energy.
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