Drake reacts to hearing an AI-generated cover of him rapping Ice Spice's song Munch
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Drake, Ice Spice
Ben Thompson
Featured Image Credit: Sipa US / Alamy Stock Photo / Instagram / @icespice
Topics: Artificial Intelligence, Drake, Ice Spice
Drake has taken to Instagram to speak out after an AI simulation of his voice covering an Ice Spice song went viral - and let's just say, he's not a fan.
In a now deleted Instagram story, the 'Rich Flex' rapper shared a headline discussing the recent 'cover', as he wrote: "This is the last straw AI."
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The AI generated cover, which had been making the rounds on social media, featured the Canadian rapping some verses from Ice Spice's song 'Munch'.
In the clip, a simulation of his voice raps: "B*tches ain't bad, let's keep it a bean.
"Know they be mad that I be on the scene.
"Ass too fat, can't fit in no jeans, you was my stitch, but it's not what it seams."
Munch by Ice Spice but it’s covered by Drake pic.twitter.com/HlQgClowEr
— Strange ai songs (@strangeaisongs) April 6, 2023
This isn't the first time that the 36-year-old's likeness has been used in a AI cover in recent weeks, as his 'voice' has also been heard rapping Cardi B's 'Wap' and Bryson Tiller's 'Don't'.
One AI video, which saw a generated version of the rapper sing 'OMG' by the K-Pop group NewJeans gained over two million views.
Drake isn't the only music artist to fall victim to AI, as Rihanna was recently impersonated singing Beyonce's song 'Cuff It'.
The rise of AI music covers is of great concern to music labels, particularly Universal Music Group, who urged streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music to block AI companies from using their music.
A spokesperson for UMG told the Financial Times: "We have a moral and commercial responsibility to our artists to work to prevent the unauthorized use of their music and to stop platforms from ingesting content that violates the rights of artists and other creators.
"We expect our platform partners will want to prevent their services from being used in ways that harm artists."
According to copyright lawyer, Alexander Ross, AI-generated covers could be illegal.
Ross told Insider: "If they have pinched the instrumental, or part of, from the original Beyoncé recording, that's copyright infringement in a number of ways.
"You've stolen part of the recording and you've distributed it, communicated it with the public. There are all sorts of grounds for infringement proceedings there."
Yikes. Well, be warned.
The future of AI and music remains to be seen, but going by the reaction of Drake, many musicians may not be keen.
Nick Cave spoke out when a fan got ChatGPT to write a song in his style, as he branded the technology 'bulls**t'.
Cave said: "The apocalypse is on its way. This song sucks."
That makes Drake's reaction seem somewhat positive by comparison.