AI has become one of the most hotly contested debates in the world right now. This is especially true within film and music. Many will say it’s just a tool like anything else, or cynically believe it’s too inevitable to try. People will thoughtlessly ask ChatGPT for answers rather than Google their own questions. Meanwhile, others are staunchly against the use of AI. Generative artificial intelligence is, in their eyes, creatively bankrupt, not to mention the environmental impact it has on all of us.
With AI artists on the rise and people increasingly curious to try it, Noisey has selected seven rappers who have gone out on a whim to be staunch AI defenders. For the curious, you can see where and how they were using it. For the anti-AI crowd, it’s a guide for artists you may no longer want to check out.
Hip-hop Artists Who Are Using Despite The Backlash From Fans
50 Cent
50 Cent has arguably become the biggest defender of AI usage through trolling alone. Anytime he antagonizes one of his adversaries, he’ll use it to make some derogatory joke at their expense. Additionally, he was a big fan of how the tech reimagined some of his classic songs.
Ultimately, 50 reckoned that he shouldn’t be on the losing side. “I don’t know where AI get these voices from, but these are some good voices! If these guys came out in that time period, they would have been competition for the guys that were there.” “I don’t like fighting fights that I can’t win, I don’t think you can beat AI,” 50 Cent told Complex. “I think we need to look at how we create businesses that work well with it and performs faster and progresses as [AI] progresses because it’s not gonna stop progress.”
Timbaland
Timbaland has been at the forefront of the AI music wave, introducing his “artist” TaTa Taktumi. He also defended his stance, arguing that if anyone should have fear over AI, it should be him.
“I understand the fear. Of all people, this is my life’s work. It probably impacts me the most. Yet, I’ll adapt and continue doing what I do. I’ve built a career doing things the hard and slow way, and what I love the most about music is the process of creation, not the end result,” Timbaland said. “I’ll gladly use it if it enables me to do something that would be otherwise impossible.”
Wyclef Jean
Wyclef Jean told content creator Jack Banana that he’s currently acting as a consultant for AI-driven music. Additionally, he says if he had this knowledge during his prime, he would’ve released a lot more music. “I think that I would be moving at a double speed of what I’m moving right now,” Jean said at the time.
RZA
During a 2026 tech panel, the Wu-Tang legend opened up about utilizing AI in film and music to ease finances. “Instead of me spending 10-12 days trying to get it right, we got that recorded in one day. You look at the orchestra, not to talk numbers here, but the orchestra could cost you up to $60k a day. So we mitigated,” RZA admitted. “And the idea of what I wanted them to do was already captured enough so that the human energy … the human pull of the string, accents, made the demo even better than I imagined.”
Will.i.am.
The Black Eyed Peas rapper and producer Will.i.am likened the use of AI to the art of sampling during a conversation with CNBC. Moreover, he felt like the developers of artificial intelligence should get more credit for their minds. “At the core of AI music is some developer, and though that’s their art, you can’t discredit their art for creating that algorithm to create,” he said. “Yes, they did borrow from music. They did train on, you know, the entire library that humans have made and that people should be paid for.”
K Camp
In a March interview with Noisey, he teased that he was using AI on his upcoming album. However, he did draw a line between himself and major labels trying to sell AI artists outright. Ultimately, he’s okay with using it to help refine some of his production choices.
“I use it for samples and vocals and backgrounds and s**t like that. I’m not dependent on no robot to write my songs. This s**t still got to come from the heart,” K Camp told us. “If I was to record a whole song, and I put my song in Suno and say ‘add some background melodies to this,’ that’s how I see it. The song still gon’ be original. I can’t give away all my sauce, man.”
Kanye West
Kanye has been back and forth on whether or not he should use AI. In one breath, he’ll look at it as a tool like other rappers and producers do. On the other hand, he also insisted that his latest album, BULLY, would have no AI on it. Still, fans have cobbled up evidence that he’s used it on some of his more recent records.
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