Drake apparently discovered it isn’t smart to mess with Tupac Shakur — even a long time after his premature dying. Billboard first noticed that the Canadian hip-hop artist deleted the X (Twitter) put up along with his observe “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which used an AI-generated recreation of Shakur’s voice to attempt to get below Kendrick Lamar’s pores and skin.
The takedown got here after an legal professional representing the late hip-hop legend threatened to sue the Canadian rapper for his “unauthorized” use of Tupac’s voice if he didn’t take away it from social channels inside 24 hours. Nonetheless, the observe was on-line for every week and — unsurprisingly — has been copiously reposted.
“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” Howard King, the legal professional representing Shakur’s property, wrote earlier this week in a cease-and-desist letter acquired by Billboard. “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.”
King implied that utilizing Shakur’s voice to diss Lamar was an particularly egregious present of disrespect. Lamar, a 17-time Grammy winner and Pulitzer recipient, has spoken steadily about his deep admiration for Tupac, and the Oakland rapper’s property says the emotions are mutual. “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,” King wrote in a cease-and-desist letter.
Drake’s observe additionally included an AI-generated clone of Snoop Dogg’s voice. The Doggystyle rapper and hashish aficionado appeared shocked in a social put up final week: “They did what? When? How? Are you sure?” He continued, “Why everybody calling my phone, blowing me up? What the fuck? What happened? What’s going on? I’m going back to bed. Good night.”
Nonetheless, the one-time Doggy Fizzle Televizzle host has a historical past of poker-faced coyness. Final 12 months, he took to Instagram to solemnly announce he was “giving up smoke,” resulting in rampant hypothesis about why the stoner icon would stop his favourite pastime. Quickly after, his announcement was revealed as a PR stunt for Solo Range — which, advertising and marketing gimmicks apart, makes some terrific bonfire pits.
