A prominent musician is caught in a public contradiction regarding his music, moving from flatly denying the use of AI to claiming he never said he didn't use it. This shift highlights a growing confusion about where the human touch ends and computer generation begins in modern pop culture.
rapper Fenix Flexin initially told an interviewer that there was no AI on his song Rubberz, even going so far as to post clips of recording sessions to prove it was made by humans in a living room. However, after a producer claimed the track was actually created using an AI tool called Treblo—which generates music from text descriptions—and software designed to detect AI patterns confirmed it, Fenix changed his tune. He now claims he never denied using AI, arguing that using it is simply a way to keep up with the times.
The blurred lines of modern production
to understand why this matters, it helps to look at what these AI tools actually do. Imagine an apprentice artist who has studied millions of paintings. If you ask for a portrait in a specific style, the apprentice doesn't just copy someone else’s work; they calculate which colors and brushstrokes are statistically most likely to look like a portrait in that style based on everything they have ever seen. AI music generators work similarly. They don't record a singer in a booth. Instead, they use a neural network—a complex mathematical structure that acts like an incredibly sophisticated pattern-matching engine—to predict what a sequence of musical notes, rhythms, and vocal timbres should sound like to fit a specific description.
When a creator uses these tools, the software essentially handles the core composition, structure, and arrangement. If a song is generated from a prompt, the human's role shifts from performer and composer to editor and director. The machine does the heavy lifting of arranging the sounds, and the human decides which version is good enough to release. This is why the distinction is so messy; the human is still making creative choices, but the actual sounds are being synthesized by a program that has analyzed vast libraries of existing music.
the friction here isn't just about whether a human held the microphone; it is about transparency. When listeners believe they are hearing a raw, human performance, they are connecting with that person’s lived experience and technical skill. If that experience is actually the output of a mathematical model, that connection changes. As these tools become easier to use, we are entering an era where the authenticity of a song is no longer guaranteed by the sound itself. We are left with a question that will define the next decade of pop culture: does it matter how a song is made, as long as you enjoy the result?
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