The backlash surrounding $TARFACE has moved beyond whether Tyga used artificial intelligence and into a debate over how much A.I. is enough to change the way an album is described. After Pitchfork gave the project a rare 0.0 rating and criticized its use of the technology, Tyga sat down with TMZ to push back on the idea that he handed an entire album over to a machine.
“I don’t really know what Pitchfork is. All I know is the devil uses a pitchfork. That’s all I know,” he joked when asked about the review. His response to the larger controversy was less dismissive. Tyga argued that listeners have taken his admission that AI was used during production and turned it into something broader than what he actually said.
“What the context is, unfortunately for Gen Z, they can’t read. So, nobody reads,” he said. “What I said was, I used A.I.-assisted things in the production. I said all the vocals are me, I wrote all the songs.”
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The longtime artist acknowledged using A.I.-generated elements when he wanted certain sounds, including guitar solos and portions of the production. He previously gave a similar explanation while discussing the album with VIBE, saying A.I. helped when he needed specific ’80s textures quickly while maintaining that the writing and vocals remained his own.
“But I didn’t make a full A.I. album,” he told TMZ. “That’s not what I did. I was in the studio for months working on this.” He said his original intention was to be transparent about where the technology entered the process. “I indeed wrote the songs, and those are my vocals. We used some A.I. sounds in the production, but we still created everything.”
That distinction has become central to the argument around $TARFACE. The album was conceived as a full departure from Tyga’s usual catalog, with an alter ego rooted heavily in 1980s Pop. Before the A.I. debate took over much of the conversation, he described spending time with vintage studio equipment while developing a sound influenced by the era.
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Pitchfork’s criticism went well beyond the mere presence of AI. Its August 12 review argued that the technology contributed to an album the publication found creatively hollow, eventually giving $TARFACE a 0.0. The review also questioned whether some of the vocals sounded artificially generated. Tyga flatly rejects that suggestion.
He also does not share the anxiety that AI will eventually make artists like him obsolete. “As an artist who’s been in this for so long, I don’t care. I don’t mind A.I.,” he said. “I’m not scared for my position. I think I’m better than the A.I. I think I’ve proven that for the last 15 years.”
Doja Cat has already weighed in from the other side of the argument. During a livestream this week, she bluntly criticized Tyga for making what she called an “A.I. album.” When TMZ played the comment for him, Tyga laughed rather than turning it into a feud, responding that he still loved Doja while getting a joke in on his own. A.I. touching part of a recording process is not the same thing, in his view, as allowing it to replace the artist responsible for the finished work. “The question is are people against A.I. or against A.I. in some things?” he asked.
