Key Takeaways #
- This roundup maps how rappers are responding to AI as the technologyreshapes music creation, ownership, and creative labor. Dr. Dre,, and** Tygaembrace AI as a tool, while Bryson Tiller**Tyler, the Creator,, and** SZAargue that it undermines human artistry or exploits musicians. Doja Cat**- Across 26 artists, the stances range from enthusiastic adoption and cautious experimentation to outright rejection.
The biggest hot topic issue in all creative fields right now is artificial intelligence and how it's being used to create art.
It's popped up in many contexts, but it's especially prevalent when talking about music: this summer, one of the biggest songs in the country was Fenix Flexin's "RUBBERZ." Initially, the Shoreline Mafia member indicated that the song wasn't AI, but he later admitted to using it. Soon after, Tyga admitted that his latest album $tarface was made with AI, which caused a vicious response from figures
like Doja Cat. The controversy surrounding it is pretty obvious. Technologies like Suno and Udio have not only trained their models on existing music, but are being used to displace creatives who are already working—while pumping out music that is derivative.
Generally speaking, the AI era we’re in is full of contradictions. Countless people with desk jobs use it daily, while entrepreneurial creatives have already folded it into their workflows. And yet, there's still a stigma: despite how widespread it is, work made with AI often gets dismissed as "slop."
Rappers are split on the technology—some are disappointed to see it used by artists, while others feel you either embrace it or get left behind.
Rappers share their thoughts on AI.
Ken Carson #
**Stance: **Negative
Ken Carson doesn't have a lengthy philosophical argument against AI, but it's obvious he's not a fan. In a 2024 X post, the Opium rapper said, "All that AI and shit y'all doing to n***s songs stink." The post reportedly came in response to a leaked song with 2hollis called "Van Cleef," which fans speculated was made using AI. —Antonio Johri
Tyler, the Creator #
**Stance: Negative **
Tyler, the Creator isn’t necessarily against AI existing—he just doesn’t understand why we’re handing over the fun part to computers. In a 2024 appearance on Posdnuos and Maseo’s Art Official Intelligence Radio, Tyler argued that AI should be tackling mundane problems rather than making art.
“I think AI needs to do the mundane shit like figure out the robot to fix these fucking potholes or get this damn smog… Adding snares and drawing? Like, no," he continued.
He doubled down while speaking with Zane Lowe in 2025, rejecting the idea of using AI to compensate for his own artistic shortcomings.
“I’m not about to sit here and AI my voice for some shit that I’m not good at. I’m going to just keep trying my best and be pure at it… It’s OK to kind of suck at shit. I’m just like, leave the arts alone.”
Tyler also isn’t particularly worried about AI catching him creatively. His reasoning is simple: AI can only study what he’s already made, not predict whatever creative endeavours he will pursue next.
“I’m always ahead of even myself so the A.I. will never catch up to me creatively,” Tyler said. “It’ll only have a reference point of what I’ve already did, not where I’m going, because it’s not me. I’m not scared of that." —Antonio Johri
Dr. Dre #
**Stance: **Positive
Dr. Dre has lived through enough technological shifts in music that AI doesn't particularly scare him. In a New York Times interview alongside Jimmy Iovine, the legendary producer talked about seeing it as another tool in the lineage of technological innovations.
"I don't see it as a threat. I think the only people that see it as a threat are the people who have trouble creating." Dre compared today's AI skeptics to musicians who rejected drum machines and synthesizers when they first arrived.
"I had a discussion with a few people a few days ago. They were against AI and I'm like, 'OK, you sound like the person that would have been against the drum machine when it came out.' Or synthesizers, right? It's a new tool for creativity. Some people are afraid of learning new things. I'm embracing it. I can't wait to see what's going to happen with this."
More importantly, Dre was not just talking about AI use theoretically, but actually using it to create. When Iovine asked whether he was already using it to make music, Dre responded, "Yes, I'm using it. Again, as a tool to see what it would do with what I just did." —Antonio Johri
Tyga #
**Stance: **Positive
While plenty of rappers have debated AI in the abstract, Tyga went the extra mile using it all over his [’80s-themed project $TARFACE](https://www.complex.com/tag/tarface). His creative decision triggered backlash from fans and media, but Tyga has stuck to his guns about incorporating the technology into his creative process,
[when speaking to Vibe.](https://www.vibe.com/features/editorial/tyga-starface-album-used-ai-as-a-tool-1235182068/)
“I don’t care,” Tyga said of people taking issue with his use of AI. “We definitely used AI as a [tool]. And I know people are going to be mad about me saying this, but it’s where technology is going. It’s no different than when Auto-Tune came out. Some people were opposed to it, but real artists took it and used it.”
Tyga also offered a more specific look at what that actually means in the studio, explaining that the technology helped create certain sounds, including guitar solos and ’80s synths. He drew a line between those applications and replacing his own creative contributions: “But as far as the writing, all the vocals are all me. There’s nothing wrong with using technology as a tool.” —Antonio Johri
Destroy Lonely #
**Stance: **Negative
Destroy Lonely’s objection to AI is less about what the technology can do and more about what it can’t have: genuine human emotion. When we interviewed Lone in 2023, he framed his opposition around his preference for anything real over something artificially manufactured.
“I'm a person of realism, bro. So, like, anything artificial or cooked up in a lab, I don't like.”
For Lone, a machine having access to endless information does not make up for the fact that it has not actually experienced anything. “Robots don't got feelings. I'm not going to listen to the fake song that this thing made off of the whole vocabulary in the world”
He capped off his strong viewpoint saying: “Anything artificial is trash. I'm all for real s**t. Ban that.” —Antonio Johri
Cash Cobain #
**Stance: **Conflicted
Cash Cobain’s position is a tad more nuanced than a simple anti-AI take. The Bronx-born rapper and producer, who has made beats for artists like Drake and Don Toliver, is willing to entertain certain uses of the technology. However, he sees using AI to create an entire track as unethical.
“I don’t agree with using AI to come up with a whole song,” he said. “I agree with using an AI voice or AI over sound, but as far as generating a whole song, I disagree. That’s not fair for real.”—Antonio Johri
Pharrell #
**Stance: **Conflicted
While AI has become increasingly polarizing, Pharrell has taken a more zoomed-out approach to the technology instead of choosing a side. Rather than treating it as something that suddenly appeared in music, he sees it as an extension of technology that has already been shaping our decisions for years. In a conversation with Rolling Stone, Pharrell pointed to smartphones and recommendation algorithms as earlier examples: “Our phones have been, in many different ways, making precognitive suggestions on what you may like because it’s looking at your every move, of everything that you’re doing, and assuming what your choices might be or what you might like.”
His perspective goes beyond whether AI-generated songs are good or bad. Pharrell seems more interested in how dramatically the relationship between humans and technology is changing.
“You search for things. You’ve been on search engines. I think what AI is doing is lightyears beyond searching. It’s like it not only gives you an answer, but it also gives you an image, or a moving image, or an audio image of what you’ve asked for. And we’re at that point now. We’re approaching singularity.”
He echoed similar sentiments at the 2025 AI Summit with the CEO of Alphabet Inc. Sundar Pichai where he explicitly said “We wouldn’t use AI to write a song,” but did say that “[AI is] a utility” and can help make the world a better place. —Antonio Johri
Fenix Flexin #
**Stance: **Positive
Fenix Flexin’s ’80s-inspired track “RUBBERZ” immediately raised eyebrows because of how dramatically it departed from his grimy West Coast ratchet sound.
Fenix initially played coy, even showing his Pro Tools session to push back against claims that AI had been involved in the recording process. He also stayed active in comment sections responding to doubters.
But he later acknowledged using AI in some capacity on the track. “Never said I didn't use AI, I said it had nun to do with [the] recording process... Ain't nothing wrong with using new technology as a tool. Keep up with the times or get left behind,” he declared in an IG comment.
Internet sleuths have continued investigating exactly how much AI went into “RUBBERZ,” with some listeners reverse-engineering the vocals and attempting to tie them back to an AI program called Treblo.
Bryson Tiller #
**Stance: **Positive
Bryson Tiller doesn't see AI as a replacement for creatives. Rather, he believes it's something they need to learn how to use. Speaking with Hot 97, he emphasized how useful the technology can be when put in the right hands.
"I love AI... I just think it's so helpful, especially to creatives. I think AI is amazing if used properly."
Considering Tiller's longstanding interest in video games and coding, his embrace of emerging technology is not surprising. But his biggest argument for AI is also a practical one: "A lot of people [are] worried that they're going to lose their job to AI... but you're going to lose your job to somebody who knows how to use AI, is really what's going to happen."
When asked whether he uses AI in music, he revealed that he has already started experimenting with the technology in his process. —Antonio Johri
Ye #
**Stance: **Conflicted
Similar to other stances Ye has taken in the past, his position on AI has evolved over time.
During the early stages of BULLY, he enthusiastically embraced the technology, even comparing its arrival to one of hip-hop’s foundational techniques.
"It's like the next version of sampling… Like when sampling happened, they hated it," Kanye West told Justin Laboy on stream. He even debuted an AI model that changed his voice to child rapper Lil RT.
On initial versions of BULLY, Ye had done most of it with AI, however, when Ye announced the final DSP version of BULLY, he emphasized that it contained “NO AI.” —Antonio Johri
Gunna #
**Stance: **Positive
Gunna isn’t particularly hands-on with AI yet, but he’s already thinking beyond simply using it as a production tool. In a conversation with will.i.am for his UPROXX cover in 2015, Gunna said he plans to explore the technology at his own pace.
“I fuck with it, but I'm not hands-on with it. I'm not against it; I'm gonna for sure tap in to it, but I'm taking my time.”
Then he took the idea one step further. Rather than only thinking about what AI could do for his own music, Gunna joked about getting into the AI artist business himself.
“I gotta sign me an AI artist, fast. Get with 'em, you can't beat 'em.”
OsamaSon #
**Stance: **Negative
“I don’t like AI in general,” OsamaSon told Pitchfork.
His biggest concern appears to be how AI will distort people’s perception of reality as it becomes more sophisticated at creating music and video.
“I don't like AI videos 'cause it's becoming too real and then people gonna lose concept of reality… So I don't support it. I don't promote it. I don't use it. I don't abuse it. None of it.”
For the young rapper, the concern seems to be that as AI becomes more realistic, people may have a harder time distinguishing what was created by humans from what was generated by AI.
SZA #
**Stance: **Negative
SZA’s opposition to AI is tied directly to questions of ownership, exploitation, and what makes human art impossible to replicate. Her concerns about technology stretch back years. On her 2022 SOS track “Ghost in the Machine,” she sings, “Let’s talk about AI, robot got more heart than I / Robot got future, I don’t / Robot get sleep but I don’t power down.”
But as generative AI has exploded, her criticism has become much more direct. In a conversation with i-D in early 2026, SZA said, “I feel like I’m at war because of AI.”
She is particularly concerned with AI companies scraping existing work to train their models and what she sees as something that is mainly impacting Black musicians.
Like Tyler, the Creator, SZA also believes the experiences that inform her art are something a machine simply cannot reproduce.
“I’m not up against the pop girls. I’m not up against the R&B girls. I’m up against anti-intellectualism and doing things easy. The type of blend of information my human experience provides, AI can’t even be prompted to fuck with.”
SZA later took that frustration to Instagram in June 2026, sharing The Atlantic’s AI Watchdog, which allows artists to see how much of their music was used to train AI models.
“If you’re a musician and you support this degenerate sh*t? You’re disgusting and there’s NOTHING YOU COULD EVER SAY TO ME TO MAKE THIS OKAY,” she declared on her story—making her stance abundantly clear.
Lupe Fiasco #
Stance: Postive
Lupe Fiasco has been an AI supporter since at least 2023, when he partnered with Google to create TextFX, an AI songwriting tool, saying, "Rap is born out of technology. Rap wouldn't exist if it wasn't for these technological advancements."
Since then, he's been active in the academic field, discussing AI in his curriculum at Johns Hopkins University's Peabody Institute and creating Endless LUP, an AI-powered radio station with MIT announced in January 2025.
He spoke about the inclusion of AI in the music production process: "I think within a year, it'll be something that's ubiquitous to everybody's craft in one way, and they'll kind of figure out ways to use it to accelerate or augment their normal workflows." —Mariah Rivera
will.i.am #
**Stance: **Postive
will.i.am has defended the use of AI in music, putting his money where his mouth is with the launch of FYI.AI, an AI messaging platform for creatives. His case rests on music's inherent subjectivity: “Yes, it’s gonna create better songs or the same type of songs or sometimes shitty songs. Just like I sometimes write shitty songs that I think are good.” That stance shows up in his own work, too — his latest release, “Sick Ass Foos,” leans heavily on AI visuals in its music video, a choice that’s drawn mixed reviews. —Mariah Rivera
RZA #
**Stance: **Postive
RZA seems to be excited about the inclusion of AI, not for its creative abilities, but for its efficiency. Earlier this year. he explained how AI played a part in creating demos before recording with a live symphony: “Instead of me spending 10-12 days trying to get it right, we got that recorded in one day… The orchestra could cost you up to $60k a day. So we mitigated.”
Ice-T #
**Stance: **Conflicted
Ice-T begrudgingly accepts AI, noting its advantages of longevity and efficiency. In a post on X he wrote “I don’t Love AI… I just understand it's here to stay.. 'You wanna lose a fight? Fight the Future' Via Quincy Jones." The actor also added that he sees acting as a dying trade, noting that AI actors could very well be the future, “ I think to say ‘no’ would be selfish. A future AI version of me would be better than me."
50 Cent #
**Stance: Postive **
50 Cent has accepted the reality of AI in the music industry, and even indulged himself, sharing AI renditions of his hit songs in classic Motown and old-school soul styles.
Most notably, he reimagined versions of "21 Questions" and "God Gave Me Style," which he posted himself and praised for how well the AI captured the vocals. In an interview with Complex, he said, "You can't beat AI; you have to go with it."
Earlier this year, he even brought AI into his music video for "No More Tricks, No More Tries" with Max B, using the technology to insert Fabolous, Jim Jones, Maino, and Dave East as part of his ongoing beef with them.
Doja Cat #
Stance: Negative
Doja Cat has long been a critic of AI. Her most memorable jab came when she called Tyga a "penis" for making an AI album, but she's spoken out strongly against generative AI more broadly. When purported leaks hit X, Doja pushed back hard, claiming it wasn't her. "Really disappointed in everyone thinking that's me," she wrote, adding in a follow-up post, "Fuck AI for real."
Max B #
**Stance: **Conflicted
Max B thinks there's good use for AI in cleaning things up in post-production, but not in the creative process.
He talked about the technology with Jason Lee, saying, "When it comes to recording your music, or doing your music authentic, no. No AI… We're trying to keep the game pure."
He also called it "cheating" and unfair to "real" artists like himself, Doja Cat, and French Montana.
Ice Cube #
Stance: Negative
Ice Cube has been a longtime critic of AI.
Back in 2023, he called the tool "demonic" in the context of people using the tech to manipulate voices.
He voiced further criticism during a conversation with Bootleg Kev. "It's the wackest shit you ever want to hear...it's for shits and giggles but I couldn't see no one buying it, getting turned on by it to where the point it becomes a hit record," he said.
Lil Wayne #
**Stance: **Conflicted
While appearing on the Not Just Football with Cam Heyward podcast back in March, Wayne said he considers AI a "challenge" and isn't scared of its implications. "I love that AI is what it is... 'cause man, I love to be able to stand right next to whatever AI is... I'm still better. Still better. I love it, I love the challenge of it."
He also explained his first encounter with the tech—it was shown to him by a friend who was worried.
"They was like, 'Man, they got this AI stuff where you can just ask it give you a verse like Lil Wayne,'" he shared. "I said, 'Give me a verse like Lil Wayne.' And it gave me its best shot. I've done it on a couple devices...They all suck. So we going to be OK."
Too $hort #
**Stance: Conflicted **
Too $hort has a more mixed reaction to AI. Asked about it in the context of Tyga's album, he said, "AI is a tool so people are going to use it... it's hard to resist if you're doing stuff with a tool." He also emphasized that he wasn't using it creatively—at least not yet—saying, "it's not really my fit right now... I'm not there."
Snoop Dogg #
Stance: Postive
During the great rap beef of 2024, Snoop co-signed Drake using AI for "Taylor Made Freestyle" (a move Dot took offense to).
Months later Snoop released a video for "Sophisticated Crippin'," which was made using AI. Which shouldn't be surprising: in 2023, Snoop talked about AI advances during a podcast, saying, "It's blowing my mind because I watched movies on this as a kid years ago... When I see this s**t I'm like what is going on?... I'm lost, I don't know."
Beanie Sigel #
**Stance: **Positive
Beanie Sigel, who had his voice damaged after a shooting in 2014, was working on an album where he is using AI to fix his voice. "I think I found a good friend with this AI thing. A lot of people frown on it, but I think it's gonna work out for me," Beanie Sigel said about using the tech in 2023.
DJ Quik #
**Stance: **Negative
During a conversation with The Shade Room, West Coast legend DJ Quik had very negative things to say about AI and how it's being used. "It's appropriation. You can't recreate somebody that's still here doing what they do... That computer is not gonna have my nuances," he said, before adding, "I'd rather have bad human material than good AI material."