Tupac Shakur Estate Rebukes Drake For “Blatant Abuse” Of Pac’s Legacy In AI Diss Lawsuit Threat
Tupac Shakur’s estate issued a cease-and-desist letter to Drake. The estate threatened to sue Drake if he did not take down his Kendrick Lamar diss track “Taylor Made Freestyle,” which featured AI-generated Tupac vocals.
“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” the estate’s attorney Howard King wrote, per 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.”
Last week, Drake released his “Taylor Made Freestyle.” Drake used the AI-generated voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg to taunt Kendrick on the song. Tupac’s estate criticized Drake for dragging the late rapper into the Canadian star’s feud with Kendrick.
“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.
Tupac’s estate accused Drake of violating the Hip-Hop legend’s publicity rights. The estate demanded a “detailed explanation for how the sound-alike was created” along with the diss track’s removal.
“If you comply, the estate will consider whether an informal negotiation to resolve this matter makes sense,” King told Drake. “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.”
Drake and Kendrick’s long-brewing beef finally erupted in March. Kendrick dissed Drake on Future and Metro Boomin’s song “Like That.” Drake responded with the diss track “Push Ups” in April. He followed it up with the “Taylor Made Freestyle.”