As Marvin and Tammi once crooned many moons ago, ain’t nothin’ like the real thing baby. Well, now in 2023, it’s sometimes hard to ascertain what’s real. Seemingly every week, a new AI (artificial intelligence) generated song is making the rounds on social media. Every Tom, Dick and Timbaland (more on that later) with access to AI music software is throwing their hat in the ring, creating tunes that run the gamut from beguiling to cringey. Is this recent flood of AI hip hop songs just a trend, or will this practice become an industry standard in years to come?

Hip Hop, since its inception, has always had a fascination with cutting edge tech/hardware in the creation of musical works. Whether it’s the non-conventional (turning a turntable into a rhythmic instrument) or programming drums on a TR-808, innovation has been the name of the game since jump. So, why the resistance to software replicating the human voice, specifically, the voices of established artists? An early opponent of this trend, audio engineer Young Guru, noted the ethical quagmire presented by using the likeness of someone’s voice without their consent. He believes the creation and promotion of these works creates a slippery slope that may have far reaching implications for those whose voices are “jacked” for these recordings.

One industry vet who is looking to capitalize on this trend is producer Tim Mosley (aka Timbaland). Timbo has been at the forefront of many popular music trends over the course of his illustrious career. His innovative production techniques ushered in a whole wave of copycats, trying to replicate his hit making formula. Now, Timbaland is the latest creative personality to hop aboard the artificial intelligence train (all aboard?)

A couple of weeks ago, Timbaland took to social media to debut a snippet of a new track he produced featuring AI generated Notorious B.I.G. vocals. Before playing the song, Timbaland acknowledged the mixed public opinion regarding the use of AI generated vocals in music. Without going into detail, he mentions the good that can come from this new voice replicating tech and proceeds to lament on how he never got an opportunity to collab with Biggie..until now.

My thoughts on this “new” track? The beat is solid, as one would expect from Timbo. The AI generated Biggie vocals sound spot on. However, Mr. Timbaland, this isn’t Biggie. This software replication of Christopher Wallace’s voice is not where it’s at. Like, at all. While this may be a fun tool to create “what if” scenarios within the confines of your studio, to try to market said creations to the world, and to monetize them, is ethically and morally dubious.

This new trend harkens back to another questionable movement in music from a few years ago, where we saw holographic projections of deceased artists Michael Jackson, 2Pac, and Whitney Houston “perform” on stage to adoring fans. I get it; it’s hard for many of us to let go of these musical giants whose works shaped our lives. There is a sense that they left here prematurely; that there was more art to create. Now, technology has somewhat allowed us to preserve the creative essence of these artists by not only replicating their image but now their voices.

Of course, like any new trend in tech, it has its fair share of detractors. Rapper Ice Cube recently vented on a podcast that he would consider taking legal action against anyone who creates an AI track using his vocal likeness, even referring to the practice as “demonic.” The popularity of AI in hip hop has only steamrolled since Young Guru first posted about it a couple of months ago. It seems the only limitations of this movement are the imaginations of the creator. Who knows, in time, we may have our dream collabo of City Girls featuring Shirley Caesar. How long will this trend last? *insert Kanye shrug* It may peter out before years end. OR, it may very well plant its flag in the rich, fertile soil of contemporary black music for many years to come.