Timbaland is coming under fire on social media for appearing in a music video for his artificial intelligence-generated artist, TaTa Taktumi. On the new song, she raps: "I put ice on my shooter / he gonna duck immigration / b*tch I'm back now / check my stats now." Timbaland originally launched the artist back in June.
Speaking about Taktumi and his new company, StageZero, with Variety, last month, Timbaland described her as "I.P." "TaTa’s gonna shock the world, man. I don’t want to give too much away, but it ain’t what people think," he said. "I’m making a franchise — it’s I.P. [intellectual property], and the new label, Stage Zero, is really like Walt Disney in music. I’m blurring the lines — TaTa is a very unique thing. The video is 85% human-made, I’m only using AI maybe 15% or less."
When Blackish Press shared a clip of the new music video on X (formerly Twitter), fans went off on Timbaland. "Using AI is crazy using AI to create a nonBlk artist to embody Black culture just so you can exploit without guilt is f*cking insane," one user wrote. Another added: "Timbaland destroying his own legacy wasn't in my 2025 cards."
Timbaland's A.I. Company
Timbaland has been facing backlash online for his stance on artificial intelligence in the arts since announcing StageZero. Further speaking with Variety, he defended his use of the technology. "I don’t generate music like that, because you still need the human element. So I just use it to add other elements to my music. I still have to think about it and build it, and then use the tool to add on," he said.
Timbaland continued: "I think people did misunderstand that — like, I don’t use chat, but I know that if you don’t ask it the right questions, if you don’t know how to talk to it, you’re not going to get the right answer. It’s the same thing with music: If you don’t know music — and you don’t know a quarter note, third note, a break, a bridge — you’re not going to get what you’re looking for, and your taste is key. If you don’t have great taste, you’re going to get what they call “AI slop.” But if [it’s used by someone] great, you’re going to know the difference. You have to use [AI] as a collaborator, not as a creator."
