Ice Cube gave his thoughts on the state of modern rap during a recent appearance on the Full Send podcast, and the conversation inevitably turned to the genre's use of AI.
The verdict is decidedly negative. "I think AI is demonic," Cube says. "I think AI is gonna get a backlash from real people, real authentic people." He goes on to lump AI-generated music with vocalists that use Auto-Tune: "It's all starting to sound artificial because of AI."
Cube specifically takes aim at "heart on my sleeve," a song that used AI-generated vocals in the style of Drake and The Weeknd. "I think that's terrible," Cube says. "I don't wanna hear that bullshit. He should sue whoever made it."
When one of the podcast's hosts raises the prospect of an AI Ice Cube song, the rapper promises legal action against creators, streaming companies that host it, and even the listeners. "I'm gonna sue the motherfucker that make it too. And the people and the platform that play it."
While it's unclear what legal case (if any) that Cube would have against the listeners of AI-assisted music, music corporations have been successful in forcing streaming platforms to remove content that imitates their artists. UMG successfully forced Spotify and TikTok to remove "heart on my sleeve," and called such songs "a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law." The company has reportedly been pressuring streaming platforms to step up their removal of AI-assisted music which they claim has flooded their music libraries.
