Tyga is done staying quiet. The West Coast rapper confirmed in a new interview that he used artificial intelligence on his $tarface album, ending months of online speculation about the project's production.
Speaking to VIBE, Tyga said he used the AI music generator Suno for elements including "80s synths" and a "guitar solo" on the '80s-inspired record. He had not addressed the speculation publicly before the interview.
"I've never spoken on this with anybody because I always felt like it's similar to a magician explaining how he does his tricks. Like why are people over-explaining how they make sh-- that's good?" he said. "It's supposed to give you an experience and a feeling. But we definitely used AI as a [tool]," he continued. "And I know people are going to be mad about me saying this, but it's where technology is going. It's no different than when Auto-Tune came out. Some people were opposed to it, but real artists took it and used it."
Tyga drew a clear line around what AI did and did not touch on the record. "But as far as the writing, all the vocals are all me. There's nothing wrong with using technology as a tool," he said.
The speculation around $tarface picked up earlier this summer after Shoreline Mafia's Fenix Flexin released his own '80s-inspired single, RUBBERZ. Footage then surfaced on social media showing Flexin and Tyga in the studio together recording a track called Lavish, which had similar synth-heavy production. Many listeners suspected the two artists were coordinating, or that both projects leaned on AI.
Tyga pushed back on the coordination angle. He said that when Flexin came to the studio, he was already deep into his '80s sound. "So, when I saw what he was doing, I was like, 'Oh, this is fire! We should do this record together because I see you on a similar wave,'" he said. "I think it was just cool to do, you know? We're going to put the video out in a few weeks. The song just didn't fit the aesthetic of the $tarface project."
The comparison to Auto-Tune is one Tyga appears to be sticking with as his main defense. Auto-Tune debuted in the late 1990s and faced its own wave of criticism before becoming standard in pop and hip-hop production. Whether the industry or fans accept the same arc for AI-generated sound design remains an open question as more artists begin to acknowledge its use.
