Tupac Shakur's estate has threatened to sue Drake over a recent diss track aimed at Kendrick Lamar that featured AI-generated vocals in the style of the late rapper.
In a cease-and-desist letter sent on Wednesday and obtained by Billboard, litigator Howard King said the estate will "pursue all of its legal remedies" unless Drake pull the song "Taylor Made Freestyle" within 24 hours.
"The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality," a litigator wrote.
"The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality," King wrote. "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."
"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," he added, arguing that the song caused “substantial economic and reputational harm” by creating the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike.”
If Drake's team provides written confirmation by noon Pacific Time on Thursday that they are "expeditiously taking all steps necessary to have it removed ... the estate will consider whether an informal negotiation to resolve this matter makes sense,” King continued. “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.”
"Taylor Made," which Drake released on Friday, was the latest in a series of back-and-forth diss tracks with Kendrick Lamar.
"Taylor Made," which Drake released on Friday, was the latest in a series of back-and-forth diss tracks that started last month when Kendrick Lamar took shots at Drake and J. Cole in his verse on Future and Metro Boomin's "Like That."
"Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast savior / Engraving your name in some hip-hop history,” the AI-generated Tupac raps in Drake’s song in a clear attempt to bait his rival into responding. “If you deal with this viciously / You seem a little nervous about all the publicity."
Kendrick Lamar's verse on 'Like That' set social media alight last month.
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An AI-generated Snoop Dogg verse also appears on the track. On Saturday, Snoop posted a video on social media that appeared to show him hearing about the song for the first time. "They did what? When? How? Are you sure?" he said. It's still unclear how he feels about the whole thing.
Drake is no stranger to AI controversy — but he's usually on the other side. Last year, an unknown TikTok user going by the name ghostwriter977 released a song called "Heart on My Sleeve" that featured AI-generated vocals from Drake and the Weeknd. Drake objected, and the song was quickly pulled from the internet.
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