Drake Removes ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’ Following Threat of Lawsuit
Drake has removed his "Taylor Made Freestyle" from Instagram following the threat of a lawsuit from the estate of Tupac Shakur.
Drake Takes Down "Taylor Made Freestyle"
On Thursday night (April 25), Drake's new Kendrick Lamar diss song was scrubbed from the Canadian rap star's Instagram page. The song, which finds Drake using A.I. to rap as the voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg to taunt K-Dot, was originally posted on April 20, and has received mixed reviews because of Drizzy bringing artificial intelligence into a rap battle. Snoop Dogg seemed unbothered by Drake using his likeness. However, ’Pac's family was not here for it.
Read More: A.I.-Generated Diss Song Made by Drake Angers Fans
Tupac Shakur Estate Threatens Drake With Lawsuit
The removal of the song comes a day after the estate of Tupac Shakur issued Drake a cease-and-desist letter regarding the track on Wednesday (April 24), threatening to sue The Boy if he did not take the song down.
"The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality," Tupac estate attorney Howard King wrote in a statement to XXL. "Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use."
They ordered the rapper to remove the song within 24 hours or face litigation.
Read More: Drake Using A.I. on His Diss Record Isn’t a Bad Move
Rappers Deleting Diss Tracks
Drake is the second rapper to remove a diss track shortly after putting it out. On April 12, J. Cole removed his Kendrick Lamar diss track "7 Mintue Drill" from streaming services after denouncing the song at Dreamville Festival 2024. However, Cole made the move because he said that dissing K-Dot didn't sit right with his spirit because they were previously friends. Drake scrubbing "Taylor Made Freestyle" seems like it was purely done to avoid litigation, which is one of the reasons it wasn't released on official streaming platforms in the first place. If Drizzy had his druthers, the song would more than likely still be up.