Did an AI Music App Just Snitch on the Song of the Summer?

There is no specified happening arsenic a cosmopolitan “song of the summer” anymore, but if you’re into rap music, Fenix Flexin’s “Rubberz” is simply a beauteous beardown contender.

Officially released successful June, it presently sits astatine #58 successful the Billboard Hot 100 and has a euphony video with 7 cardinal views. Lyrically, it’s got everything you’d want: boasts astir currency and jewelry, and bars that enactment arsenic a treble entendre for braggadocio and depression.

But determination are 2 absorbing twists to “Rubberz.” First, it isn’t a rap opus astatine all; it’s a synth-pop tune that would beryllium astatine location successful a moody ‘80s playlist. Also, since it dropped, it’s been the absorption of accusations that it was wholly oregon partially AI-generated.

The statement reached a highest this play aft an autarkic euphony shaper claimed he’d figured retired not lone however Fenix had made “Rubberz,” but that the rapper’s labelmate, Tyga, has besides seems to person utilized a little-known generative AI euphony app to make immoderate ‘80s-themed tunes of his own.

And now, the creators of that aforesaid AI euphony app person efficaciously snitched connected both: the service’s caller built-in detector is present flagging the songs made by some Fenix and Tyga arsenic apt AI generated.

This whitethorn yet settee the statement fans person been having each summer. It won’t settee the 1 they’re astir to start.

Tune Up

People were suspicious of Fenix from the beginning; “Rubberz” is not lone an antithetic genre displacement for the artist, it besides doesn’t dependable similar his dependable successful the song.

Fenix Flexin grew up successful East Hollywood and helium sounds similar it, and erstwhile helium archetypal debuted arsenic portion of the radical Shoreline Mafia successful the precocious 2010s, you could ever admit which bars were his due to the fact that of his somewhat nasally, congested voice. The dependable connected his June 5 merchandise of “Rubberz,” however, is wholly unrecognizable. It’s a batch brighter and crisper, and the accent sounds person to a precise chipper Morrissey.

Both helium and the credited producer, Purps connected the Beat, person denied utilizing AI astatine each turn. Fenix told Channel 5 that helium “freestyled” the lyrics, and successful the comments of an On the Radar performance, helium replied to radical accusing him of utilizing AI: "No sirrrrrrr, recorded aforesaid arsenic each euphony I do! Only quality is auto-tune reverb and maine utilizing my fake uk accent lol."

Not everyone bought his explanation, but determination was nary impervious otherwise. As the summertime continued, euphony media debated whether “Rubberz” had been AI-generated. But nary of the well-known AI euphony detectors flagged it, Fenix denied it, and the opus continued to rack up plays. Fans had nary prime but to get comfy with the question being unresolved.

Then, things shifted suddenly. On Thursday, a euphony shaper named Medasin posted a video claiming he’d figured retired however Fenix utilized AI to marque the track.

It wasn’t Suno, oregon Udio, the 2 astir salient generative AI tools for making music. Instead, Medasin says, Flexin had utilized a lesser-known app called Treblo. Medasin breaks down his accusation methodically: first, helium points retired that the app utilized to beryllium called Sonauto until 2 days earlier “Rubberz” was released. And past helium shows a screencap of 1 of Fenix’s aged Instagram Stories teasing his caller ‘80s sound. A freeze-frame and zoom reveals that a filename being shown connected surface has the suffix “Sonauto.mp3.”

But the astir compelling accusation comes erstwhile Medasin shows however helium was capable to usage Treblo to make a precise akin track. By utilizing tags similar “80s synthwave” and prompting the app to constitute lyrics astir a “rapper lifestyle,” Medasin got a similar-sounding song. The lyrics adjacent carnivore much than a passing resemblance to “Rubberz.”