The estate of Tupac Shakur has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Drake over the Toronto rapperâs âTaylor Made Freestyle.â The track, a diss aimed at Kendrick Lamar, features vocals meant to sound like 2Pac, likely created using artificial intelligence. The estate is asking Drake to take down the song, which he posted on his social media pages last week.
The Tupac Shakur Estate is being represented by prominent entertainment lawyer Howard E. King. In his letter to Drake, King called âTaylor Made Freestyleâ âa flagrant violation of Tupacâs publicity and the Estateâs legal rightâ and âa blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time.â
King continued, âThe Estate would never have given its approval for this use. The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupacâs 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.â
Shakurâs estate plans âto pursue all of its legal remediesâ if Drake does not take down âTaylor Made Freestyle,â the lawyer wrote.
Pitchfork has reached out to Drakeâs representatives for comment and more information.
Drake and Kendrick Lamarâs long-simmering feud has picked up steam in recent weeks. Lamar took shots at Drake (and J. Cole) on Marchâs âLike That.â Drake formally responded with âPush Ups,â and he followed the diss song with âTaylor Made Freestyle.â On the freestyle, Drake used AI 2Pac and AI Snoop Dogg vocals to taunt Lamar into responding to him again. Snoop Dogg has not publicly expressed his desire to take legal action against Drake, but he did post a video to show his confusion with the situation.
