The D.O.C. Reflects On Using AI To Make New Music
Written by djfrosty on November 14, 2023
Source: Scott Dudelson / Getty
The D.O.C. talked about how it feels to be creating new music after so many years using AI technology in a recent interview.
Iconic rapper the D.O.C. was the subject of an interview with CBS Mornings Nov. 10 on his career and the life-changing car accident that damaged his vocal cords, leading him to also share how he’s utilizing artificial intelligence to help him make new music. “Fab 5 Freddy asked me would I be interested in creating an album using AI technology,” he said to co-host Michelle Miller.
The former YO! MTV Raps host and Hip-Hop cultural pioneer felt that the idea of the D.O.C. using that technology was natural. “I just felt like it was a no-brainer for somebody like him to have an opportunity to bring new music to the world,” he said during the segment. Fab 5 Freddy would then connect the rap veteran to Mikey Scholman, the CEO of AI company Suno.
Scholman said that the company is “teaching the machine what D.O.C. used to sound like.” In studio sessions in the D.O.C.’s hometown of Dallas, Texas, which were captured for the interview, he took note of how fruitful their AI technology was in creating the voice he had before his car accident using his older recordings. “When this thing happens it sounds like a real me,” he said to the Suno personnel.
Miller asked Scholman towards the end of the segment, “Aren’t there ethical issues here?” voicing the concerns that have been raised about the technology being used for dubious purposes. Scholman acknowledged those concerns, but felt that in this case, the choice was a “slam dunk.”
“Letting D.O.C. recreate the voice that has been in his head that he hasn’t been able to get out there for the last 35 years – I can’t think of a better usage of this technology than that,” he said.
The D.O.C. echoed that sentiment, seeing it as a blessing, which he expressed in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on the day the CBS Mornings interview aired. “I gotta share this just to show you how cold G.O.D is,” he began. “In light of the news today that I’m getting an opportunity to make a new album using the voice I was born with, around 3:33am will be 34 years to the day I lost it on 11/11/89. Circle of light.”