Sheryl Crow criticizes Drake for using artificial intelligence to imitate Tupac’s voice in a song

Sheryl Crow accuses Drake of using artificial intelligence to recreate the voice of late rapper Tupac Shakur for his Kendrick Lamar diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle.”

The song – which also featured the AI-generated voice of Snoop Dogg – was released in April but was later removed from all platforms after Shakur’s estate wrote a letter threatening to sue Drake over the verse.

“You can’t bring people back from the dead and think they’ll tolerate it,” Crow told the BBC. “I’m sure Drake thought, ‘Yeah, I shouldn’t do it, but I’ll apologise later.’ But it’s already happened and people will find it even if he takes it down.”

She added: “It’s disgusting. It goes against the life force that lies within all of us.”

Crow, who has spoken out against the use of artificial intelligence in music in the past and in her song “Evolution,” stressed that she talks to her children about the impact of using this technology.

“I say, ‘You grow up with this thing and it doesn’t seem dangerous because you’re a frog in a pot of water,'” she said. “‘But the water is just starting to boil and you don’t realize it’s getting hotter until we’re all floating on top.'”

When it comes to music, however, Crow is thankful there’s one thing AI hasn’t been able to replicate yet. “AI can do a lot of things, but it can’t go out and play live,” she says. “So as long as we have live music, as long as we have hands holding a paintbrush, all is not lost.”

“Taylor Made Freestyle” is one of several songs Drake released amid his controversial rap feud with Lamar. The “Humble” rapper, who has cited Shakur as one of his inspirations, addressed Drake’s decision to mention Shakur’s name in several of his subsequent diss tracks, including his song “Not Like Us.”

Lamar also recently told Drake at his Juneteenth Pop Out concert to “give him back Tupac’s ring,” a reference to the custom ring Drake bought for over $1 million at an auction in 2023.