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Freddie Gibbs is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to artificial intelligence in rap. During an appearance on The Ryen Russillo Podcast, the Gary, Indiana MC made it clear he’s not here for rappers leaning on ChatGPT to write their bars.
“Look at AI rap now, man,” Gibbs said. “I don’t even believe if you even really make it anymore… I done been in studios with motherf–kers, and motherf–kers is ChatGPTing s–t, and I’m like, ‘What in the f–k?’ Like damn, how long am I gonna be able to do this s–t? Cause I’m actually making fresh s–t.”
For Gibbs, the rise of AI feels less like innovation and more like an existential threat. “Art is dying,” he argued. “When you got to ask a computer to write your lyrics, s–t is wack.”
But not everyone in hip-hop sees it that way. Just earlier this month, 17-year-old Chicago rapper BabyChiefDoIt stirred debate after admitting on Power 105.1 that he’d recently downloaded ChatGPT and used it to help write his lyrics. The confession sparked backlash from fans who felt he was cutting corners before his career had even begun.
Meanwhile, veteran producer Timbaland has gone in the opposite direction of Gibbs. In an interview with The Inner Court, the hitmaker suggested that AI is the only thing keeping music from feeling lifeless. “This whole election divided us,” he said, pointing to political and cultural rifts that he believes have drained the soul out of today’s output. “We talk about AI, but that’s the only thing that has a pure soul right now… something you could create and express your true feelings and it comes out beautiful.”
The clash of perspectives highlights hip-hop’s uneasy relationship with technology. For artists like Freddie Gibbs, the craft of writing rhymes remains sacred, and outsourcing it to a machine feels like a betrayal. For others—whether curious newcomers like BabyChiefDoIt or futurist producers like Timbaland—AI looks less like a threat and more like a tool for reinvention.
Where the culture lands on that spectrum may ultimately shape the next chapter of rap.
