Tupac & Drake – Source: Getty Images/ Prince Williams/Kevin Winter
Tupac’s estate is threatening legal action against Drake for his use of Tupac’s likeness to taunt Kendrick Lamar.
After releasing his “Taylor Made Freestyle”, Drake promised Kendrick Lamar the dust wouldn’t settle so he could go into hiding. And now, a storm is brewing over Drake using Tupac’s likeness in the diss track.
“Kendrick, we need ya, the West Coast savior/ Engraving your name in some hip-hop history,” the AI-generated Tupac raps in Drake’s song. “If you deal with this viciously/ You seem a little nervous about all the publicity.”
According to Billboard, Tupac’s Estate has issued a cease and desist over the A.I. track and wants it taken down immediately.
The outlet reports that litigator Howard King told Drake he had 24 hours to confirm the posts would be deleted from social media and said the estate is ready to “pursue all of its legal remedies” against the Canadian.
“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” wrote King in a cease and desist letter. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
Elsewhere in the letter, Shakur’s esteate referred to Kendrick Lamar as a “good friend” whose respected the late rapper’s legacy.
“The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s 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,” the letter continues. Additionally, the late rapper and actor’s estate argued “Taylor Made Freestyle” has caused “substantial economic and reputational harm” by giving listeners the “false impression that the estate and Tupac promote or endorse the lyrics for the sound-alike.”
Who knows where this will go from here but a new legal precedent could be set. Everyone was told to pick sides in the rap world Vs. Drake beef and Tupac’s estate clearly picked the familiar face.