Controversial S#!T

Drake has more robot problems on his hands -- after his record label pulled the plug on one viral AI song that was using his voice ... two more, which are also solid, have cropped up.

The tracks are floating all over the internet and live on several platforms -- including YouTube and TikTok ... although it's unclear where exactly they first originated from. One is called 'winters cold' and another is labeled 'Not a Game.' Like we said ... both aren't half bad.

The first sounds like a pretty standard Drizzy track ... with a catchy beat and lyrics that slide without a hiccup, almost as if the human himself was rapping. However, if you actually listen to what the AI is saying ... it doesn't actually make too much sense. Still, it's catchy as hell.

This second AI song is a little more obvious as being a fake ... AI Drake's voice, in this instance, sounds a little off and the flow isn't quite as clean or varied as actual Drake's.

Again, though ... not a terrible reenactment of the real McCoy -- and Twitter's howling about how close machines have come to doing their best rendition of Aubrey. Remember, this all comes on the heels of yet another AI song that went viral this weekend that's been yanked.

Of course, we're talking about 'Heart on My Sleeve' ... which features both fake Drake and fake Weeknd. Universal Music Group apparently issued takedown requests of the song -- which was on Spotify and other streaming services ... and then slammed it to no end.

The label said, in part ... "The training of generative AI using our artists’ music (which represents both a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law) as well as the availability of infringing content created with generative AI on DSPs, begs the question as to which side of history all stakeholders in the music ecosystem want to be on: the side of artists, fans and human creative expression, or on the side of deep fakes, fraud and denying artists their due compensation."

UMG says they appreciate their publishing partners' help in getting these phony songs off the digital air ... but it sounds like they're going to be busy as time goes on.

Four white Oklahoma officials were secretly recorded talking about murdering journalists, lynching black people and joking about someone dying -- and now they're all in very hot water.

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt called for the immediate resignations of McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, Sheriff's Captain Alicia Manning, Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix and District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings after the recordings were published by a local news outlet.

In addition, the Oklahoma Sheriff's Association held an emergency meeting Tuesday and voted unanimously to suspend the three cops -- Clardy, Manning and Hendrix -- from the membership-only union.

According to the McCurtain Gazette-News, which broke the story, Manning, Jennings and Clardy were the primary culprits captured on various recordings -- obtained by The Oklahoman -- discussing their evil plans, while using racist rhetoric. Little did they know that their conversations were being taped by an anonymous person.

In one recording, they discussed killing reporters Bruce and Chris Willingham, whose family owns the McCurtain newspaper. Jennings allegedly told Clardy and Manning that he knows where "two deep holes are dug if you ever need them." Clardy reportedly responded, 'I've got an excavator." Jennings allegedly added that he's acquainted with "two or three hit men" who would "cut no f***ng mercy."

Manning then reportedly chimed in, saying her dad would have physically assaulted Chris Willingham and "used him for toilet paper" before killing him.

On another recording, the trio allegedly lamented how their jobs have changed and chatted about potential candidates for the sheriff's position.

Jennings allegedly said ... "I'm gonna tell you something. If it was back in the day, when that Alan Marshton would take a damn black guy and whoop their ass and throw him in the cell? I'd run for f****** sheriff." He continued: "Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a d**n rope. But you can't do that anymore. They got more rights than we got."

Another recording purportedly featured Clardy and Hendrix joking about someone who died in a house fire, comparing the victim to a slab of "barbecue meat.

Governor Stitt was so appalled by the recordings that he called for the resignation of all four officials and ordered the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to look into whether any illegal conduct had occurred.

The McCurtain County Sheriff's Office also launched a probe, but the agency appeared to circle the wagons. In a statement, the office said it was a violation of the law to make the secret recordings, which were also illegally obtained by the news agency.

The three officers are still on full active duty. As for District 2 Commissioner Jennings, he, too, remains on the job ... for now.

Sean Garrett is more than a little leery about adopting AI in the studio, because if it comes down to us versus the machines -- as many fear it eventually will -- he's always riding with us.

We caught up with the prolific producer/songwriter Tuesday in NYC, and he admits he's curious about using the artificial software, but not to the point where it overshadows the human contribution.

Sean's been a part of some huge records -- such as Usher's "Yeah," Nelly's "Grillz" and multiple Beyonce jams -- and doesn't think that success could have been duplicated with a ghost in the computer.

Or as he puts it, "If it ain't from the soul, that s**t ain't real."

Ralph Yarl -- the teenager who survived a close-range shooting which may have been racially motivated, is set to meet with the mother of Ahmaud Arbery ... TMZ has learned.

Ahmaud's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, tells us she asked attorney Lee Merritt -- who reps both her and Yarl's family -- if he could broker a face-to-face so that she could lend the Yarls some moral support during this difficult time ... as she went through something similar.

She says Lee thought it was a wonderful idea, and the wheels are already in motion for a sit-down between them in the near future -- although it's unclear exactly when. As you can imagine, Ralph is still recovering from being shot in the head ... allegedly at the hands of Andrew Lester, who was slapped with criminal charges this week and who's been arrested.

You might've heard ... Ralph was apparently fired upon last week after he rang Lester's doorbell -- mistakenly thinking it was the house his younger siblings were at. His family and family attorneys believe race was a factor ... something investigators are looking into now.

In any case ... Wanda says she thinks she can offer some good advice to both Ralph and his loved ones right now -- telling us that the loss of her son, Ahmaud, came under very similar circumstances ... which, sadly, had a much more tragic result.

She says she wants to let them know that they have her support and that they can get through this trying time ... a road she herself has obviously gone down of late. Wanda tells us she'll be praying for the Yarls through all this too ... and hopes they receive justice.

BTW, Ralph's story is already getting national attention ... including from the White House, which we're told has already reached out to invite him for an in-person visit once he's ready.

Pras isn't going down without a fight in his political conspiracy case -- he took the stand Tuesday to testify in his own defense.

According to sources with direct knowledge, the former Fugees rapper's attorney called him as a witness this morning. His testimony covered several topics ... such as his background, upbringing, education history and, of course, his career as a platinum-selling musician.

Pras will likely be on the stand for the rest of day and perhaps again tomorrow as he faces 22 years behind bars for allegedly accepting around $88 million from Malaysian refugee Jho Low between 2012 and 2017.

We caught up with Pras earlier this month when the trial was heating up ... but it was unclear whether he'd actually take the stand in the case.

Never mind all that talk about artificial intelligence killing the music industry, Tony Rock sees a huge upside to adopting the technology ... especially if you're a fan of late greats like Tupac and Biggie!!!

TMZ Hip Hop linked with the veteran comic Tuesday at LAX and it's clear he has some deep thoughts on the AI topic, because he rattled off some suddenly possible collabs -- between deceased rappers, or even Michael Jackson and Jay-Z sparring on a track.

There's currently a fake Drake and The Weeknd song with millions of views so yeah, there's clearly a demand for dream AI pairings.

Going further, Tony proposed a Coachella-style, 100% AI-generated festival ... and he even nominated Billy McFarland and Ja Rule to organize it!

Pump the brakes, Tone ... we were with ya right up until the Fyre Fest callback.

U.S. law enforcement's decision not to charge anyone in the death of Shanquella Robinson has her family outraged -- but they're not ruling out a lawsuit to seek justice in civil court.

TMZ spoke to the late North Carolinian's mother and sister -- Sallamondra and Quella, respectively -- who told us how they're feeling in the wake of last week's news that U.S. officials are closing the book on this case without holding anyone accountable.

As you can imagine, they're devastated, but, more than anything, they're confused ... as results of different investigations -- both here and in Mexico -- are vastly different.

As you might have heard ... there were 2 autopsies done after Shanquella died this past fall near Cabo San Lucas. The initial one was conducted by Mexican officials almost immediately after she was pronounced dead and, reportedly, her cause of death was "severe spinal cord injury" and instability of her vertebrae ... suggesting she'd suffered trauma.

Considering there's a widely-circulated video showing Shanquella taking a beating from a woman she was vacationing with at the time. Her family thinks it's a no-brainer to connect the dots and assume one thing might've caused the other -- namely, that the attack might've played a part in their loved one's death. Apparently, U.S. investigators felt differently.

Shanquella's family says the feds did their own autopsy -- once her body was embalmed and shipped -- and conceded there was swelling in her brain, but ultimately determined an official cause of death was inconclusive.

The fact the feds seem to be relying on their autopsy findings -- which are undoubtedly less accurate than the more timely Mexican one -- is a discrepancy that has yet to be properly explained ... according to the family's attorney, Sue-Ann Robinson (no relation).

Sue-Ann tells us justice wasn't done, because, she believes, U.S. prosecutors punted. She also says the family isn't giving up and will continue to seek ways to pursue criminal charges.

Sue-Ann says the family will keep pressuring elected officials -- including President Biden -- to do the right thing and force the U.S. Attorney's Office's hand in taking action ... as that appears to be the only thing they can do to reopen Shanquella's case, criminally. We're told the family was offered the option to exhume her body for a third opinion, which is still an option.

Of course, there's also the possibility of civil legal action ... something the family tells us they are absolutely considering. Fact is, they personally know the friends who vacationed with Shanquella, and they believe some of them know more than they've revealed.

Aliyah Boston -- the top pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft -- believes NIL deals for college hoops stars like Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark could change the league ... and by that, she means bigger paychecks for the players!!!

TMZ Sports spoke with the former South Carolina forward/center recently in New York City ... just as the "NIL deals vs. WNBA salaries" conversation started to trend over Reese's reported income from brand deals

According to On3, the LSU star's projected earnings grew to $876k after her Final Four performance ... which is more than any WNBA player's 2023 salary, including Diana Taurasi, who'll make $234,936 this year.

This revelation was met with a lot of criticism, considering pros like Taurasi and A'ja Wilson make less than college student-athletes. But, Boston -- who will play for the Indiana Fever this upcoming season -- believes it could actually force the league to increase their salaries.

"Everything that's happening is to grow the game," the 21-year-old said. "I just think no matter how it goes, I just think it's all just to grow the game."

The 2022 Naismith Women's College Player of the Year also believes it's a personal decision whether a college athlete wants to stay in school or not ... saying they must do "what's best for them."

Doja Cat was in an upbeat, trolling mood Monday when she gave her followers the tiniest music preview imaginable of her upcoming rap album.

A giggling Doja went live on IG and breezed through 25 tracks ... but only played 2-second snippets of each song, barely giving the opening chords time to breathe and never letting a beat fully drop.

It might sound like a torturous exercise, but her audience ate it up anyway ... as did Rich The Kid, who's dying to guest on the album!!!

The song array sounded diverse, indeed, but fans won't be able to know for sure until she pops the lid off the project ... which is tentatively being called "Hellmouth."

Doja also addressed her new tattoo of a half-female, half-mythological creature, and after seeing pics, many fans are labeling it demonic.

The portrait actually comes from Italian physician Fortunio Liceti’s 1616 artwork "De Monstris" a.k.a. "monsters" and Doja explained most of her tats are simply an appreciation of the art and have no real meaning to her.

Rep. George Santos is apparently trying to cater to the Barbz -- he just introduced a new bill named after Nicki Minaj that's all about vaccines ... so claims one journo.

Semafor's political reporter Kadia Goba tweeted out some news she says she's privy to -- namely, a piece of legislation the New York congressman has supposedly thrown into the House of Representatives for consideration as a would-be law that bears Nicki's name.

She writes, "Ahem. Rep. George Santos just dropped seven bills in the hopper. Among them, The Minaj Act, named for -- yes, you guessed it -- rapper Nicki Minaj establishes a development period for new vaccines in order to generate public confidence."

We've searched Congress's official site and Rep. Santos's official page, which tracks what bills he's sponsored or co-sponsored, and can't find this new bill anywhere. The House is back in session today, so it's possible Goba got a sneak peek before it hits the system.

The bill would be a fascinating play by the embattled Republican, who's been mired in controversy (stemming from his many lies) from day 1.

Still, he seems to be attempting to curry favor with Nicki's fervent fan base already -- just check Twitter and you'll see they're already loving the move ... and, by extension, Santos. Of course, Nicki's history with vaccine skepticism is well-documented from the pandemic.

Remember, she had a whole ballsy story about her cousin and alleged side effects from the vaccine when they were first being rolled out ... a saga for which she caught a lot of flak.

Morgan Freeman says he doesn't like Black History Month or the term "African American" ... and views both as insulting.

The actor makes his feelings known in an interview with The Sunday Times, telling the UK publication ... "Black History Month is an insult. You're going to relegate my history to a month?"

Morgan feels the same way about "African American," explaining ... "I don't subscribe to that title. Black people have had different titles all the way back to the n-word and I do not know how these things get such a grip, but everyone uses 'African American.' What does it really mean? Most Black people in this part of the world are mongrels. And you say Africa as if it's a country when it's a continent, like Europe."

Morgan made the comments in response to a question about an old TV interview he gave way back in 2005 ... when he said the only way to end racism is to stop talking about race.

In the old interview, Morgan tells the TV host ... "I'm going to stop calling you a white man and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man."

The Sunday Times asked if he still feels the same way, 18 years later, and that's when he went off about Black History Month and using "African American" ... reportedly raising his voice as he explained his view.

When the interviewer quoted Denzel Washington as once saying, "I'm very proud to be Black, but Black is not all I am," Morgan says ... "Yes, exactly. I'm in total agreement. You can't define me that way."

Google now has an AI program to sell just like everybody else in tech -- but its own top dog is still giving a blaring warning to society regardless ... saying we need to brace for impact.

Sundar Pichai said as much Sunday on "60 Minutes," where he sat down for an interview and offered startling insights into the rapidly evolving technology that's taking Silicon Valley -- and the rest of the world -- by storm ... which is only going to get more jarring, he says.

Check out this snippet from the chat ... where Pichai is asked if he thinks society is ready for what's ahead. He's pretty frank, saying ... no, not really. But, there's some optimism too.

SP goes on to explain that while he doesn't think everyone's quite prepared to deal with how advanced artificial intelligence/machine learning already is and where it's headed -- he does note that the concerns about AI have been widespread and frequent early and often.

To him ... that means everyday folks can see the dangers ahead of time, and he hopes that'll spur some to act in our best interest -- namely, elected officials who pass laws on this stuff.

Ironically enough, Google was sorta plugging their own AI tech on "60 Minutes" here ... including Bard -- which is their answer to Microsoft's ChatGPT -- albeit, with seemingly more guardrails in place, for now, than what the competition is rolling out ... aka, smart robots.

Pichai says Google's got other stuff they're tinkering with in this department -- but he promises to do so with humanity in mind ... while also calling on mass regulation of AI.

BTW, this issue goes way beyond just tech ... it's already starting to affect the music industry -- including big artists like Drake and others. It's bound to all come to a head in due time.

A new AI-generated song featuring fake Drake and The Weeknd is taking the internet by storm -- but it might just be a tech startup behind this ... according to a deep Twitter dive.

The track is called 'Heart on My Sleeve' ... and it's all over TikTok/Twitter right now. Purportedly, this was created with nothing but the use of AI programming -- meaning there wasn't a human involved in the making of what sounds like a banger ... with what absolutely sounds like Drizzy and Abel. In other words, AI efficiency is getting scary good.

Right from the beginning, you hear the familiar Young Metro intro ... which then goes into a bass-heavy club beat with Drake starting the opening verse. It's incredibly solid -- and it sure sounds like something Drake may have even written/rapped. Ditto for Weeknd's chorus.

On its face, you'd think this was a leak ... but Twitter sleuths are claiming it isn't, and that it's solely the work of a robot -- which is frightening if true ... especially for the labels.

Now, as for who may have created this track and why -- as an AI program needs to be told to do something like this by a person somewhere along the line, unless we're already in 'Terminator' territory -- one man thinks he has the answer ... and he might be on to something. Shout out to Mitchell Cohen of AppSumo for doing the heavy lifting here.

He started a Twitter thread that did a lot of digging in the origins of 'Heart on My Sleeve' ... and it all seems to have started with a TikTok account by the name of ghostwriter977.

That account claims to have the full song at the link in their bio, but when you click it ... it takes you to a weird site that is then asking for your phone number, with the promise of sending you song that way. If it sounds fishy ... that's because it very well may be.

The site that the link takes you to is owned and operated by a startup company called Laylo ... and they tout themselves as being able to give creators more tools to reach more fans/subscribers ... via "drops." Anyway, this ghostwriter account also uploaded another AI Drake song a couple days ago ... where he's covering Colbie Caillat's 'Bubbly.'

Mitch stops short of saying it definitely is Laylo's doing ... but the company itself is feeding into the narrative that it is ... seeing how they retweeted his entire thread and responded with a cheeky ghost emoji. Because of this, Mitch and others feel like this a genius marketing ploy just to attract new users/customers to Laylo ... assuming it is, in fact, them.

As for Drake and Weeknd ... yeah, they might wanna get on this. 'Cause this song is too good to be out in the world without their sign-off.

E-40 got the boot at the Kings-Warriors game this weekend following an apparent argument with a fan that escalated into a shouting match with security ... and his eventual removal.

The Bay Area rapper -- who's a big Warriors fan -- was sitting courtside Saturday night in Sacramento's Golden 1 Center for Game 1 of the series ... but, somewhere around the 4th quarter, he appears to have gotten into it with a Kings fan who was sitting behind him.

Per reports, E-40 was standing up a lot and blocking the view of folks a row or two back -- who were complaining. After being issued warnings from Golden 1 Center staffers on hand -- security had to get involved at a point ... which then erupted into a full-blown scene.

As you can see, 40 wasn't happy about the situation ... and was even seen yelling at a Golden 1 Center security guard -- which was also snapped up close for a dramatic photo.

Eventually, the Warriors' guys had to step in and help cool things down ... escorting E-40 from the premises as he continued to chirp with security and fans -- who were mocking him and waving at him as he left. Pretty ugly situation ... and E-40's claiming racism here.

He issued a statement to Shams Charania, saying the culprit was a white woman whom he claims was heckling him throughout the game. 40 says he finally turned around to address her directly, which then spurred security to jump in and only deal with him ... not the lady.

You can go read his full remarks, but essentially ... he says racial bias was at play -- and that despite his success ... he still got the short end of the stick as a Black man. 40 says he was humiliated and that the whole thing was jarring. He also thanks his fans for backing him.

Jimmy Kimmel's late-night sidekick, Guillermo Rodriguez, is in the doghouse with a rescue agency that says two pups he adopted ended up at a shelter, but he says the whole ordeal started with a misunderstanding within his family.

Mutt Scouts, a dog rescue group based in SoCal, tells TMZ ... Guillermo adopted two chihuahuas -- Chase and Rey -- back in 2021 when they were just puppies. He was stoked about the addition to his family, posting pics of them on IG soon after getting them.

However, Mutt Scouts says they recently got a call from an animal shelter in the L.A. area ... saying the dogs were surrendered to them by an unnamed woman. The shelter called Mutt Scouts because both pups were microchipped and registered to the org prior to Guillermo adopting them.

Mutt Scouts provided TMZ a copy of the contract Guillermo signed before adopting -- which says the rescue would be the first point of contact to help rehome the dogs if he no longer wanted the dogs or couldn't care for them.

The org took to social media this week to call him out, and some 'Kimmel' fans were pissed and noted Guillermo's past post with the dogs is no longer on his page.

Guillermo tells TMZ ... this all started when he was asked to take care of his grandmother's large dog because she's battling dementia. At the same time, he went in for knee surgery ... so his stepsister had to watch Chase, Rey and grandma's big dog.

He says his stepsister panicked the big dog was going to harm the two chihuahuas, and that's when she decided to take them to the shelter. When Guillermo found out, he says he immediately told her she'd make a big mistake. He knew they should have gone to Mutt Scouts and says he contacted the group on Friday and said he "was sorry from the bottom of his heart."

Mutt Scouts tells us they hope Guillermo's case is a teachable moment for anyone looking to adopt a pet. It's standard procedure for adopted animals to be returned to the rescue agency if the owner can longer care for them.

Chase and Rey are now with Mutt Scouts, which is hoping to find a new home for them. Mutt Scouts tells us Guillermo made a $5k donation to help them care for the pups in the interim.

Manila Luzon's two-year-old campaign for Jack Daniel's -- which features drag queens -- is drumming up outrage anew ... and she says those who are boycotting can cry in their corner.

The former 'Drag Race' star responded to the latest wave of indignation over an LGBT-friendly ad that the whiskey brand ran a full two years ago ... back in 2021. Apparently, some are just catching wind of it now -- and dramatically pouring their JD down the drain.

In one viral instance, a guy actually poured his Jack into a firepit ... and torched the sauce.

Luzon tells TMZ ... the fact these iconic American brands have been teaming up with the LGBTQ+ crowd to reach a new demographic is nothing new -- and she's eye-rolling over the fact that certain folks are just now figuring it out and screaming at the sky about it.

She makes a couple good points here. For one, ML says these companies have entire departments dedicated to market research ... and since they're pivoting toward inclusivity, ya gotta figure they know it's good for their bottom line to reach out to a new customer base.

In Jack Daniel's case ... that actually bares out in the numbers. Their parent company, Brown-Forman, reported huge boosts in sales of the famed liquor last year. Hard to say if that's due to their drag queen ad, specifically, but something's working for them dollarwise.

The other takeaway here is this ... there's options in America. If you're not happy with a brand, for whatever reason, you don't have to buy it anymore. Plain and simple.

Luzon notes, though, that if these people wanna boycott every company that runs an LGBT-leaning ad or campaign -- they might be out of products in the near future. She says this is the way the world is going ... and they can either get onboard, or be left behind.