The estate of Tupac Shakur has issued Drake a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action over the use of an AI-generated version of Pac’s voice on “Taylor Made Freestyle,” per court documents obtained by Complex.
As Billboard was first to report, Drake has been informed by litigator Howard King that he has 24 hours to pull “Taylor Made Freestyle” or he will face legal action.
“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” the cease-and-desist letter allegedly reads.
“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.”
At the time of writing, Drake still has the track available to stream on his Instagram page, though he’s yet to release it on streaming platforms.
The track targets Kendrick Lamar, with whom the rapper has been beefing since K Dot came for him in his verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.” Pac’s estate took issue with using his likeness to target 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 continues.
Additionally, the late rapper and actor’s estate argued that “Taylor Made Freestyle” has caused “substantial economic and reputational harm” by giving listeners the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike.”
King wrote that the intellectual property of Pac’s discography was potentially “scraped to create the fake Tupac AI on the record,” and as a result, Drake has been asked to detail “how the sound-alike was created and the persons or company that created it, including all recordings and other data ‘scraped’ or used.”
Drake has yet to respond, but Pac’s estate has said it will “consider whether an informal negotiation” can resolve the matter if he meets their demands.
“If you do not comply, our client has authorized this firm to pursue all of its legal remedies including, but not limited to, an action for violation of … the estate’s copyright, publicity and personality rights and the resulting damages, injunctive relief, and punitive damages and attorneys’ fees,” the letter concludes.
“Taylor Made Freestyle” also features an AI-generated voice of Snoop Dogg, who hasn’t announced plans to take legal action but did react to the track on social media.
“They did what? When? How? Are you sure? Y’all have a good night,” Snoop said in a video. “Why is everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the fuck? What happened? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed. Good night.”
The song utilises a form of AI technology to make it appear as though Pac and Snoop are asking for Kendrick Lamar to respond to Drake and his “Push Ups” diss, which only officially hit streaming services on Friday, April 19.
