Lupe Fiasco has partnered with Google to develop a new artificial intelligence tool designed specifically for rappers.
On Wednesday (Aug. 2), the Chicago native and the tech giant unveiled TextFX, a program designed to assist artists in the songwriting process by generating alternate meanings and phrases to words chosen by the user.
In a video released in promotion of TextFX, Fiasco defends the use of A.I. in Hip-Hop, arguing that the genre “wouldn’t exist” without technological advancements. “Rap is born out of technology,” he explains the clip, noting various examples of new inventions proving beneficial to its artists and expansion. Fiasco then points to A.I., particularly “large language models” as the next frontier in the evolution of artistry.
Aaron Wade, a Creative Technologist at Google, spoke on the company’s partnership with the rap star, crediting him with taking Google’s vision for TextFX to another level. “Initially, we thought that maybe Lupe would want an A.I. system to write lyrics for him, verses and raps. But it turns out that he didn’t want that at all,” Wade explained in the clip. “What he wanted was a tool that helped him explore the universe of possibilities that can arise from any given word, or phrase, or concept.”
In another video, the Grammy Award-winning lyricist walked viewers through a TextFX tutorial, creating a song titled “Glass Of Water” with the assistance of the technology. After completing the process, he gives a brisk performance of “Glass Of Water,” further insisting that the tool is accessible to a wide-range of creatives, but warning it requires manual use to maximize its performance.
“Depending on what you want to get out of it, it is there for you to get it,” he explains. “It does require you to do the work, it’s not doing the work for you. It’s just providing you with different opportunities, and work flow, and being efficient, and you know, offloading certain things so your mind can focus on other things.”
The Food & Liquor creator continued to marvel at the impact TextFX had on the creation of the song. “I really never thought that it would go there just from a small, tiny little twist,” he said of “Glass Of Water.”
Lupe Fiasco is the latest rap artist to embrace artificial intelligence, which has become a polarizing tool and subject among creatives across various mediums, including Hip-Hop. While artists like The D.O.C. and Beanie Sigel have both extolled the potential benefits it could have in the digital restoration of vocally-impaired artists’ voices, others like Ice Cube have spoken out against it, deeming it as a disservice and possible detriment.
Watch Lupe Fiasco’s TextFX tutorials and performance of “Glass Of Water” below.