Jay-Z’s Engineer, Young Guru, Expresses Concerns Over Timbaland’s Use of AI in Music Featuring Late Notorious B.I.G.
Young Guru, the long-standing engineer for Jay-Z, has voiced his issues with Timbaland using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to produce a song featuring the late rapper Notorious B.I.G.
In a detailed discussion with Okayplayer about the growing role of AI in music, Young Guru elaborated on why he confronted Timbaland about leveraging AI to replicate the voices of deceased musicians.
“I reached out to Tim firstly because we have a working relationship and mutual respect, which is why I approached the matter with love,” said Young Guru. “Tim, I respect you, but this can set a dangerous precedent. If you, given your status, endorse this as acceptable, it can lead others to believe it’s fine to follow suit.”
Young Guru clarified that he isn’t against AI technology per se, but he has serious reservations about its potential misuse. He expressed concern about Timbaland potentially endorsing practices that could be detrimental.
He stated, “When you use Biggie’s voice to make him say things he never said, or when your interpretation, or any other songwriter’s interpretation, supplants what Biggie might have said, it feels like an infringement on his legacy. What would his daughter, or CJ feel hearing their father’s voice manipulated in this way?”
Young Guru continued, “What about Faith, or Biggie’s mother? They aren’t receiving any compensation from these AI-manipulated tracks that are being released.”
Though Timbaland’s AI-crafted song featuring Biggie has not been officially released, he did share a glimpse of the track on Instagram in May.
