Foota Hype urges music players to embrace AI

Foota Hype says musicians should use artificial intelligence (AI) tools as a creative art form to enhance their music instead of expressing fear of it "taking over their roles".

"It's good and it's bad. It would be like when Autotune (audio processor software) was introduced and now everybody uses [it] and Melodyne (music editing software). It's called innovation, expansion and evolving," Foota Hype told THE STAR. However, he warned that AI could cut value - both in finances and authenticity.

"Where an artiste would normally be authentic and genuine, they can just now identify their AI voice and run it through a mic/sound system and use that wherever they go, just like what they did with Autotunes. Some artistes carry this autotuned version of their sound wherever they go, so when yuh hear dem pon a show, yuh naah get di real authentic artiste. A di technology actually a keep dem up to a 100 per cent delivery. But if light shudda go weh, dem naah guh sound like how dem sound and dem cya ride di riddim good," he opined.

His comments came after reports of an AI recording artiste was said to have signed a million-dollar record deal. The video drew widespread reaction, with some questioning the future of artistes, producers and the overall music fraternity.

"Whether dem bash it or not, it (AI) is going to be here to stay because whether or not yuh use it, a yuh a guh get left behind. If you nuh use it, somebody else will because just like Autotune and Melodyne, a lot of di producers never want it fi work. But it work and dem end up a use it too. Even real artiste weh can sing fi real still use it because it's less hassle and it creates a new sound to di new ears dem," he said.

Foota Hype suggested that even with AI generated sounds creating albums that might even reach the Grammy stage, there's always a way around that.

"If an AI album sells 20 million copies, why not give dem di Grammy? Just give dem as a 'AI Grammy' because it's a form of art... . But dat naah guh stop Beres Hammond or Elephant Man from getting a Grammy, this is just another form of art. Yuh can have somebody weh cyaah perform, but dem a di baddest AI artiste. Suh as long as dem identify dem as AI artistes, mi nuh have a problem. Dem affi inna a AI category by demself," he said.

He said what people should fear more when it comes to AI, is if it's being used to generate evidence in a court system to help decide on someone's fate in "life or death situations".

"They (juries) usually listen voicenotes or watch videos to enhance a case or pass judgement pon a case. Now, with AI being so dangerous you can have AI saying something that they (the defendant) never said. You can also put a person in a particular area/premises using AI and seh it's a camera video. What is your fate gonna be left up to, an engineer? Suh a deh so my biggest fear deh, not with the music," said Foota Hype.

Foota Hype also dismissed rumours that he had suffered a minor stroke and had to use a wheelchair.

"I'm quite alright...dem just affi talk bout Foota Hype because I am the 'views gad'. Suh speaking about me or against me garners more views for the persons hosting it [because] mi a dem click magnet. But dem call dung worse sickness dan dat pon mi man, but dem a worry bout di wrong tings. But mi great man, mi good, mi alright and mi deh yah a duh mi work," he said.