Drake has been threatened with legal action by Tupac Shakur’s estate over his new song Taylor Made Freestyle.
The late rapper’s estate is threatening to sue the Hotline Bling hitmaker for using an AI-generated version of Shakur’s voice in his recent Kendrick Lamar diss track.
In a cease-and-desist letter, lawyer Howard King called on Drake to remove the track from all platforms within 24 hours. If he does not confirm his cooperation by noon on Thursday, the estate will “pursue all of its legal remedies” against him.
“The estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorised use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” King writes in his letter, reports Billboard. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of.. 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 continued, “The unauthorised, 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.”
In addition to the song’s removal, the estate is also seeking all of the track’s profits as well as additional damages for substantial economic and reputational harm caused.
The God’s Plan rapper, real name Aubrey Graham, also used an AI simulation of Snoop Dogg’s voice on the song, which was released on Instagram on Friday. It does not currently appear on any streaming services.
Shakur was fatally shot in 1996 at the age of 25.
