These are the Craziest AI-Generated Rap Songs

You asked for it last week and we delivered 16 of the most mind-blowing AI rap covers from Kanye, Jay-Z, Lil Uzi Vert, Drake, Travis Scott, and more. Find it under the Rap’s Report section. In other news today:

• Song streams & revenue 📈 

• Latest YSL RICO trial update 🐍 

• Frank Ocean’s Nostalgia Ultra might be re-released 🍊 

• Snoop Dogg admits he didn’t like Tupac’s “Hit ‘Em Up”

• Craziest AI-generated rap vocals 🤖 

• Rap Madness results + predictions

• Industry Insights

Song Streams & Revenue

Song streams and revenue chart gets a refresh this week with new entries from Rod Wave, Toosii, NLE Choppa, and Tyler, the Creator. Reported by Hits Double Daily, the numbers reflect the previous streaming week from March 31st to April 6th.

The 2 songs Tyler, the Creator released in anticipation of his deluxe album, CMIYGL: The Estate Sale, are both charting this week earning a combined total of $94,662 dollars from almost 20 million streams.

How many streams does it take to make $1M?

Last Thursday’s song chart showed Ice Spice and Pink Pantheress nearing the $1 million revenue mark for “Boys a liar Pt. 2”. With the new streaming numbers they successfully cracked it, earning $1,038,082 dollars from over 216 million streams during the last 9 weeks (Feb 3rd to April 6th).

RICO Trial: YFN “Lean” Lucci, YSL Defendant Claims Donald Trump Gave Him Legal Advice

While the search for eligible jurors in the YSL RICO case continues, YFN Lucci appears to have taken the wok to jail. A new video has emerged showing the rapper pouring a purple liquid into a bottle of ginger ale.

He’s currently awaiting trial for murder and RICO charges, not the same RICO as Young Thug, but he was allegedly served with a subpoena to testify in Thug’s trial and refused to take the stand. He was stabbed by a fellow inmate last year and prosecutors claim that two YSL associates were behind the hit (likely the reason for the subpoena).

What’s the latest update on the YSL trial?

So far, 8 of Young Thug’s co-defendants have taken plea deals. Of those that remain is Jayden Myrick who is accused of stabbing YFN Lucci. Myrick appeared in court this week and told the judge that he would like to represent himself in the trial as he’s been studying law.

It gets weirder, Myrick also claims he’s been receiving legal advice from Donald Trump, President Joe Biden, and Senator Jon Ossoff. “I’m not the regular inmate. I be with Joe Biden and Donald Trump and they be talking to me. Donald Trump is going to get me out,” Myrick said.

Sounds crazy, right? Donald Trump was just arrested and this isn’t an A$AP Rocky stuck in Sweden type situation. The judge was justifiably concerned and after learning that Myrick is prescribed an anti-psychotic medication, which he hasn’t been taking, the judge ordered a mental evaluation.

If it’s determined that Myrick isn’t fit to stand trial, the number of defendants left in the YSL trial will dwindle down to 13.

Frank Ocean Rehearses for Coachella Amid ‘Nostalgia Ultra’ Re-Release Rumors

Only days away from Frank Ocean’s return to the Coachella stage, he was heard rehearsing at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California. Videos started to emerge on social media this week, taken by fans who live near the festival’s grounds.

Songs that were heard include “Nights”, “Nikes”, “Biking”, and “White Ferrari”. You can listen to Frank rehearsing “Nights” in videos posted to Twitter here.

Prior to the rehearsal, the orange BMW E30 M3 from Frank’s Nostalgia, Ultra artwork was spotted in the desert. Then BMW’s Instagram shared videos of the car with the caption, “The past meets the future this week. As far as what comes next, we’ll let you guys prophesy.”

Either Frank has partnered with BMW on a special car or Nostalgia, Ultra is getting a re-release. The mixtape hasn’t been available on streaming services since it was released in 2011 on Frank’s Tumblr.

If you’re unfamiliar with how that mixtape changed his life, read the tweet below from the Frank Ocean Tumblr archives.

Snoop Dogg Admits He Didn’t Like 2Pac’s “Hit ‘Em Up”

Snoop Dogg sat down with Big Boy for an episode of Untold Stories and discussed his relationship Tupac Shakur and the infamous rivalry between Death Row and Bad Boy Records in the ‘90s.

For those unfamiliar with the Death Row era…

Snoop Dogg and Tupac were labelmates on Death Row but their relationship had its ups and downs. Snoop always had a chill California demeanor and preferred to keep the peace but Tupac didn’t feel the same way. “Man, I’d say a week before he died, we was best of friends. Two days before he died, I don’t think he liked me,” Snoop said.

Why Tupac and Snoop didn’t see eye to eye

In an interview right before Tupac’s death, Snoop was asked how he felt about Biggie and Diddy. “I was like, ‘I like them n***as, I wanna do some music with ‘em.” Tupac caught wind of Snoop’s comments and took it as a sign of disloyalty because he believed Bad Boy Records, including Biggie and Diddy, had ordered the attack that left him shot 5 times in 1994.

Talking to Big Boy, Snoop admitted he wasn’t thinking about Tupac’s emotions because “they was our friends, we was all friends at some point”. He referenced the days before Death Row when he, Tupac, Biggie, Diddy, and Suge Knight would regularly hang out and that’s why he wasn’t a fan of Tupac’s diss track “Hit ‘Em Up”.

“Even when he played ‘Hit ‘Em Up,’ the song, I didn’t like the song, I didn’t like it. It wasn’t the shit to me. Like, you buying more problems, cuh. You buying more problems,” Snoop said. Listen to “Hit ‘Em Up” on Spotify and Apple Music.

Craziest AI-Generated Rap Vocals

As AI continues to take over the world, more and more AI platforms are being used to recreate popular songs using the vocals of another artist. Enjoy this roundup of AI-generated songs from Drake, Kanye, Jay-Z, Lil Uzi Vert, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, and more.

How does it work?

Whichever AI software is used, studies the discography of the artist in question and “trains” itself on how to mimic everything from their tone, cadence, pronunciation…etc. Those trained vocals can then be applied to the lyrics of existing songs—creating an artificial version of how one artist would sing the song of another artist.

Is it legal?

Yes, but not for profit. AI-generated vocals and songs can’t be commercially released but they can be posted online for others to enjoy.

It might not last forever, music labels are already pushing to block AI software from accessing their songs on streaming services which would diminish the effectiveness of AI’s copycat abilities. Not to mention, the concept of intellectual property is at risk without clearly defined laws surrounding the use of AI in music creation.

Kanye seems to be the most popular artist for AI songs, in the video below he covers:

• Kid Cudi’s “Day ‘n’ Nite”

• Drake’s “Hold On, We’re Going Home”, “What’s Next”, and “God’s Plan”

• Ice Cube’s “It Was a Good Day”

• Dr. Dre’s “Stil D.R.E”

My personal favorite is Dr. Dre’s “Still D.R.E”, Kanye’s voice isn’t well suited for Drake songs and I’m sure the real Kanye wouldn’t approve of it either.

Guetta’s video is a good example of how these songs are created. He was criticized for playing the track at a paid festival gig because the nuances of copyright law (which includes performance rights) don’t apply to AI yet. The looming question is: how should an artist be compensated for AI using their name, image, and likeness?

AI Jay-Z

A rap group called “AlttA music” wrote a song and used AI-generated Jay-Z vocals to deliver a guest verse. The results are crazy realistic and Hov’s longtime engineer, Young Guru, shared the video along with concerns about AI’s future.

Other notable AI covers:

• AI Kendrick Lamar does Kanye’s “Touch The Sky” (on YouTube)

• AI Travis Scott does Drake’s “God’s Plan” (on TikTok)

• AI Juice WRLD does The Weeknd’s “Die For You” (on TikTok)

• AI Kanye does Future’s “Mask Off” (on YouTube)

• AI Lil Uzi Vert does Future’s “Solo” (on TikTok)

• AI Drake does Bryson Tiller’s “Don’t” (on TikTok)

• AI Pop Smoke does Ice Spice’s “Munch” (on TikTok)

Round 2 Results

One of the biggest upsets from Round 2 was A$AP Rocky advancing, again, ov/er an artist that had a more notable 2022. He took out J.I.D in round 1 and eliminated Lil Durk in round 2. A$AP’s popularity hasn’t diminished in recent years, despite a lack of new music but Lil Durk has steadily been busy on the music front.

Fans were also upset to see NLE Choppa take out Gunna in round 2. Gunna’s popularity may have diminished due to snitch allegations surrounding his plea deal in the YSL RICO trial but prior to that, 2022 was his year.

Gunna’s song and viral tagline, “pushing P”, reached audiences beyond rap fans becoming a pop culture moment, and nabbed 2 Grammy nominations. His 2022 album, DS4Ever, debuted #1 on multiple Billboard charts and 15 out of the album’s 20 songs charted on the Hot 100.

Round 3 Match-Ups & Predictions

Voting will likely get closer as only 16 artists are left in Rap Madness. Take a look at the round 3 predictions below (whoever has the 👑 next to their name is the predicted winner).

1. Lil Uzi Vert 👑 vs Future

2. A$AP Rocky vs J. Cole 👑

3. NBA Young Boy vs Travis Scott 👑 

4. Young Thug 👑 vs NLE Choppa

5. Drake 👑 vs Lil Baby

6. Yeat vs 21 Savage 👑 

7. Kendrick Lamar 👑 vs Lil Wayne

8. Playboi Carti 👑 vs Tyler, the Creator

• Universal Music asks streaming services to block AI companies from accessing its songs. There are growing concerns about the use of copyrighted songs to “train” AI music platforms.

• Swizz Beatz announces HH50 Vol. 2 EP with Lil Wayne, Nas, Lil Durk, and more. The 5-track EP arrives on April 21st.

• Live Nation sued by fans injured during a stampede at 2022 Lovers & Friends. The festival returns to Vegas on May 6th with 50 Cent, Chris Brown, Usher, and more headlining.

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