Photo Credit: SZA by Erin Cazes for The Come Up Show / CC by 2.0
After her music was found among AI training datasets, SZA called out artists using AI music generators like Suno and alleged that Diplo has an equity stake in the company.
On Saturday, SZA took to her private Instagram to call out artists using AI music generators, specifically Suno. She also alleged that popular producer Diplo had equity in the company and was actively training it on “the best and brightest Black minds of writers and producers.” Diplo has pushed back, claiming that he has no stake in Suno—but that it’s not the only AI platform artists like SZA should be worried about.
The whole thing stemmed from the launch of a public database recently highlighted by The Atlantic, which enables users to search for artists by name who may have been included in AI training datasets. SZA recently posted on her primary Instagram that she had searched that database and found 238 of her songs had been used, some that she’s “certain” weren’t even released yet.
“If [you’re] a musician and you support this degenerate shit? [You’re] disgusting and there’s nothing you could ever say to make this okay,” wrote SZA. “I hope you have the life you deserve.”
Then, the artist took to her private Instagram, where she could be seen smoking outside and talking to the camera as if venting to a friend. There, she called out AI music generators such as Suno and alleged that DJ and producer Diplo had equity in the company.
“We make up 13% of the American population yet influence the world [with] our sound and perspective,” she wrote in a caption. “I ain’t heard a white AI song yet… We have no protection in legislature, medical, or creative. The easiest to steal from. Do not give away your vibranium! Do not train AI [with] your genius.”
Diplo invested in the AI research startup Aaru earlier this year but has denied being a Suno investor.
“I’m definitely not, and there are 100 apps that can do what Suno does,” Diplo said. “A young kid can even make their own app, AI music app, with [Anthropic’s] Claude. The villain isn’t the tech. Technology is just technology.”
“Last I checked, AI apps trained over 500 songs I made… That sucks, but if one gets big, I’ll claim my writing. Every artist will have that opportunity,” said Diplo. “What AI can’t do […] is train on songs I am going to make, and we need to keep pushing it forward, not looking backwards. These AI models are remaking the same shit over and over. I’m always trying to make something I haven’t heard before.”
He cited an unauthorized AI remix of Stick Figure’s song “Angels Above Me,” which recently went viral, leading to the original artist becoming more popular.
“The AI remix sucked, but it blew his song up, and he got his vocals on it, and his listeners went from a few thousand to millions in a week. Then [David] Guetta remixed it,” Diplo said. “I helped navigate him through that because if you’re a creator, then you will get paid for being used on the LLM. You just need to be literate about it and be proactive.”
But his remarks do little to assuage SZA’s initial concerns. Instead, Diplo further points to the technology already surpassing the surrounding laws. That problem is only going to be further complicated by the technology becoming harder to discern from reality.
“If SZA uses the apps without [copyright] protection, she will be completely freaked out if it’s even higher quality and it’s going to get impossible to decipher what’s real and not,” Diplo cautioned. “Suno and Udio are old to the kids using AI—the next ones are scary.”
