Kehlani has criticised an AI-generated artist receiving a $3million (£2.2million) record deal.
- READ MORE: Kehlani: “I’m really in a lighter, more mature, happy, fun space”
Earlier this week, it was revealed that AI-generated artist, Xania Monet, had signed a multimillion-dollar record deal with Hallwood Media after a bidding war between multiple labels.
Monet is operated by Mississippi poet and designer Telisha “Nikki” Jones, who reportedly uses the generative software to set her poems to music.
Now, Kehlani has weighed in on the news, saying: “I don’t respect it.”
“There is an AI R&B artist who just signed a multimillion-dollar deal … and the person is doing none of the work,” she told followers on TikTok. “This is so beyond out of our control.”
She went on to highlight the power of AI to create fully formed songs without users having to “credit anyone” involved in making the copyrighted works on which such generative music systems are trained.
“Nothing and no one on Earth will ever be able to justify AI to me,” she added.
@kehlani all yall in the comments saying God annointed her.. baby that is a computer!!! 😭😭😭😭😭 #AI
♬ original sound – Kehlani
It comes during a period of controversy for AI technology in the music industry, with a recent study sharing the stark warning that people working in music are likely to lose a quarter of their income to Artificial Intelligence over the next four years.
Deezer also recently revealed that 28% of music uploaded to the streaming platform is fully AI-generated. AI-generated songs are reportedly being uploaded to dead musicians’ profiles on Spotify.
Meanwhile, big-name British artists, including Paul McCartney, Kate Bush and Elton John, urged Keir Starmer to protect the work of creatives earlier this week, ahead of an imminent UK-US tech deal during Donald Trump’s visit to the country.
Elsewhere, SZA has hit out at AI users for being “codependent on a machine”, and James Cameron has revealed he is worried that the technology could lead to a real-life version of his film The Terminator.
