It’s Here: AI in MUSIC
Contrary to the proclamations of our high quality, hand cropped, “I HATE MUSIC” t-shirts that ooze rock star sex appeal, we at Nothing Radio have been thoroughly enjoying Playboi Carti’s long awaited album release. In fact, if anyone cares to show up to my funeral, I kindly ask of you to queue up “Like Weezy” in my honor. Hit a little dance too while you’re at it, it’s what I would’ve wanted.
While I’m all for the spirit of innovation and experimentation that Carti brings in abundance, there’s one creative decision that I and a few others have found to be somewhat polarizing (it’s NOT Swamp Izzo’s tags, please exit if you don’t like them): The use of AI vocals.
If you’re not chronically online, this information was shared by the media outlet @Kurrco on Twitter. Kurrco is a trusted source in the online rap community who is often used as an industry mouthpiece, boasting a high success rate of breaking news stories and by far the most reliable source during the “MUSIC” rollout (this paragraph is so sweaty).
The songs that Carti has been accused of using AI vocals on are “RATHER LIE” and “FINE SHIT”, which makes total sense given their overtly melodic nature compared to the rest of the album. “RATHER LIE” is the more obvious of the pair, with long pockets of R&B like singing that make you question where all that has came from. Playboi Carti possesses many different cards in his deck, but I’m not sure that’s one of them. It’s a lot more subtle on “FINE SHIT”, but there’s moments like the thirty second mark or the first chorus where the notes sound a little too clean, a little too sustained, and with a touch of clipping that won’t go past a discerning ear.
Although Carti’s camp has denied these rumors, I implore you to please remember who we’re dealing with; Jordan Carter is among the most prolific liars of our time, and his sudden burst of output does not change that. His label has even gone as far as to copywrite strike videos that question the authenticity of his vocals. This isn’t the first time that’s happened either.
“Playboi Carti” has previously been speculated to be writer and vocalist, Lawson, due to references surfacing for their work together on “Timeless” with The Weeknd. In what world does Playboi Carti need a reference track? Because it’s not this one; his style is entirely based on catching flows while freestyling.
What truly matters though, is that a threshold of great magnitude has been crossed. Even though we recognize innovators as so in real time, it’s comical that we’re still shocked when they do their thing and ya know, innovate. For better, or more likely for worse, AI has stepped to the red carpet, and it’s here to stay.
Do I think AI has a place in music?
Sometimes.
And before you grab the tomatoes, I’d like you to hear me out.
A widely overlooked facet of rap’s World War III last year was that it marked the true advent of AI use in music. Besides racist crypto-dork test tube babies and an interesting collaboration between Google and Lupe Fiasco, it was mostly amateur creators using artificial intelligence to make Temu Travis Scott songs. However, the hubris of one man might have inadvertently changed everything. Drake’s “Taylormade Freestyle” might be overlooked and forgotten about when diss records are brought up, but I have a feeling its true impact will reveal itself over time. It was merely the first domino.
Despite the fact that it was undeniably corny, I will give credit where it’s due to Drake for creating something so provocative. Hearing him rap as Tupac elicited a putrid reaction from me, and not because it was so disrespectful, but because posthumous AI releases are likely a sad reality coming to a streaming service near you. It also opens the door for tasteless AI Trump features on some YouTube rappers lame concept song (Joyner Lucas, I’m looking at you). This is both the predictable outcome and the worst outcome in my opinion, which seems to be the prevailing theme of 2025.
On the flipside of the beef, Metro Boomin presented a vision for AI that felt both kosher and optimistic, a stark contrast from Drake’s perverted rap Frankenstein. BBL Drizzy sampled a parody song written by online personality King Willonius, which he manifested to the airwaves in the form of an AI soul singer. I do think that hearing AI as an element of production as opposed to a track’s primary vocalsis a lot more palatable of an experience for most listeners; there’s a reason why we smack people on the ass instead of the face. It’s reportedly unknown if Metro was aware of the sample’s artificial nature when he first made the song, but it opens a wide door of opportunities for the practical application of AI in music.
In this particular context, AI vocal chops could be a godsend for young producers who look to avoid dreaded sample clearances. Instead of waiting ages for permission or agreeing to predatory splits, producers have the golden opportunity to be more creative than ever in bending a sample to their will or replicating a specific vibe and sound.
To put it frankly, producers in 2025 are spoiled with technology that would MELT the brains of their analogue elders. Having the capability to separate stems precisely on any song of your choosing is revolutionary and unequivocally a good thing for music. It’s actually kind of Democratic. While previously it was near impossible to split stems without sacrificing quality or jumping through hoops to obtain the originals, AI has made this process accurate and accessible with there being various different programs available to make this possible.
Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, was an early adapter of this technology and used it while producing VULTURES 1 with Ty Dolla $ign. I’m not sure how you readers feel about this, but it would be negligent to omit the most vocal user of AI in this article. Ye was the first person shameless enough to AI his own vocals and although this led to his most half assed and forgettable album of all time, I believe there was something a lot more compelling about his foray into AI on BULLY.
Yes I know it’s an unfinished album and as of now he says he’s done with AI (he says a lot of things…), but the difference between the AI on VULTURES 2 and BULLY is that the AI on BULLY has a utility of sorts rather than serving as a crutch for his apathy. Because BULLY is unfinished as of now, it’s fair to label the songs he’s put out as demos. I think there’s a very practical application for AI on reference tracks and demos, where an artist does not have to compromise the full scale of an idea or concept because they’re short handed. If there’s an idea for a feature or a vocal section which they may not be capable of achieving themselves, AI could prove to be a useful placeholder for the time being. An interesting example I heard of this on BULLY was on “TAKE MY BREATH AWAY”, where Peso Pluma sings in Spanish with Ye’s voice overlaid on top. I think if an artist were to do something like this as a reference for their own vocals, it could be an absolute gamechanger for many songwriting processes. But I’m not sure that’s what he had in mind.
In a recent interview, he described AI as being “in the same family as autotune” which I found to be an interesting thought. While he pushed this idea to it’s most extreme variance per usual, I see the vision and completely understand the manner in which he thinks the two technologies are related. What he means and what he has shown is that having different artists hit flows and notes that he can’t is similar to the assistance that autotune provides to someone who can’t sing for shit. As a matter of fact, that’s why we’re here in the first place. There is no doubt in my mind that this is where Carti got the idea from and when the whole song isn’t AI’d, you can actually understand Ye’s angle within reason. Carti executed this swindle with precision and it’s why I find myself more open to the idea of AI in music than I was in the past. However, from a moral standpoint I hope to never hear AI vocals again. It sounded passable, but we introduce ourselves to a slippery slope when we start to accept the practice of forging our voices via computerized technology. At the end of the day it will boil down to this: are you ok with labels stealing their artists voices in exchange for slightly better Playboi Carti vocals?
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
AI is extremely revolutionary and while it has a genuine place in music, it should never be placed in the hands of the untalented or the ill-willed. It can be like handing a chisel to Michaelangelo—or handing a chisel to John Wayne Gacey: the potential for a masterpiece, or the potential for crimes against humanity, depending whose hands it’s in. I beg you all, try not to use AI like a douche and be careful how you interact with it. It’s future in music is purely dependent on your acceptance, so act wisely, my beloved readers.
Let us know your thoughts, ideas, rebuttals, insults, and anything in between in the comments below. We’d love to know how you all feel about this topic!
Xoxo, Nothing Radio <3
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