When we said "channel the spirit of Tupac", this is not what we meant Aubrey.

In the latest saga of the current hip-hop Civil War, featuring Drake and Kendrick Lamar, the "6 God" did a first in hip-hop beef, he used ...artificial intelligence. In the "Taylor Made Freestyle", Drake resurrects the hip-hop legend Tupac to diabolically take Kendrick down a few pegs before giving K.Dot a few handfuls of bars himself.

Also, sandwiched between the two verses you'll find some AI-generated Snoop Dog bars also directed at Kendrick — which also left me scratching my head because last time I checked Uncle Snoop was alive and thriving. But, we will revisit this later.

So, what's currently happening with the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar beef? 

For the uninitiated, Kendrick Lamar's recently released verse on Future & Metro Boom's "Like That" off the hard-hitting We Don't Trust You, took direct aim at Drake. 

Drake and Kendrick have exchanged subliminals for the past decade but this marks the first time Kendrick has directly aimed at the Toronto rapper's talent and place in hip hop.

Though people had their doubts, Drake inevitably responded with the entertaining, fiendish, and very memeable, "Push Ups".

Drake's "Taylor Made Freestyle" is kind of weird.

"Taylor Made Freestyle" is a follow-up, hitting Kendrick "back to back" before the MC can even respond, a clear strategic call back to the Meek Mill Drake beef from 2015.

As for Drake's bars on the track, they are good, maybe even great, filled to the brim with 6 God double entendres and that Drizzy pettiness that we've come to love, with standouts like:

"Shittin' on you niggas from a whole different altitude

High up in the sky like I'm Howard Hughes

The first one really only took me an hour or two

The next one is really 'bout to bring out the coward in you

But now we gotta wait a fuckin' week 'cause Taylor Swift is your new Top

And if you 'bout to drop, she gotta approve"

I chuckled.

But as for AI-generated guest verses on the "Taylor Made Freestyle", I am actually torn. As you probably know Kendrick Lamar is from LA. So hearing, two West Coast legends even if they are created with artificial intelligence has to get under Kendrick's skin.

Even more so, Kendrick "featured", Tupac, on 2015's To Pimp a Butterfly's closing track as both a beautiful ode to the legend and to perhaps insinuate the two are cut from the same cloth.

Using your heroes to joke on your height, talent, and credibility is a level of pettiness I can't help but find entertaining. 

Additionally, if you have been following this beef, new "disses" from the artist involved, pop up every week, only to quickly be proven that they are AI-generated tracks, like the one below. Drake knows what he is doing here.

But, using AI-generated music also triggers a bit of existential dread in me.

I feel an artist as big as Drake using AI to create music, when he knows the world is watching him sets a dangerous precedent — especially in an industry of creatives more scared than ever that their work could be replaced by a few well-written algorithms. Drake could open the floodgates setting the foundation for an inevitable AI norm when we need to be very mindful of this new emerging tech.

Equally, do you really need AI to go at Kendrick Lamar? Really? Again, I appreciate the psychological warfare but in a field where your pen is all that matters, these verses are distracting at best. Also, Tupac has given us one of the best and most explosive diss tracks of all time when he was alive. The Tupac verse here lacks any of that energy and bombastic lyricism.

Sure, Drake could be hailed as a pioneer when we look back at this hip-hop beef, in the realms of AI-generated music. But I doubt it. Using AI to go at your rival? I feel Kendrick has more than enough ammo for his response.

How is AI-generated music made? 

So if you were wondering, no Tupac is not hiding away in Cuba handing out guest verses. His bars on the "Taylor Made Freestyle" were generated by artificial intelligence.

AI-generated music uses AI-powered techniques or computer software to imitate music styles or artists, or even generate "new" music.

In its simplest form, the process involves loading up a massive dataset of music into an AI algorithm. The AI then digs into the patterns and structures of that music, using what it learns to craft its own original compositions.

In theory, if you were a Swiftie and wanted to create your own "original" Taylor song, you could place her entire catalog in your data set, and set parameters like song topic, length, instrumentation, what ex you want to diss, etc., and create your own masterpiece. 

Though I am not exactly sure how Drake generated his Tupac and Snoop Dog verses, I am fairly positive he used some variation of the method mentioned above. 

As we wait for the next response, who has the better style history, Drake or Kendrick Lamar?