The "Rubberz" saga continues. Since Medasin's viral breakdown of Fenix Flexin's big hit, the conversation around the single and the use of AI in music continues to spiral. A few days ago, Treblo, the AI software that helped birth "Rubberz" and its bizarre posh '80s aesthetic, confirmed through their own vetting software that their program was used to make the song. Now, following months of avoidance around the AI accusations, Fenix Flexin has officially confirmed the use of AI.
In recent weeks, Fenix never outright denied the use of AI. Same with his producer Purp On The Beat. Instead, both were really good at side-stepping the issue, even though it's constantly been brought up in interviews. You can see that in the joint interview with Purp for RapTV that went up around the same time as this week's Treblo revelations.
When asked how he felt about the "AI accusations," Fenix responded: "I love it. The more talking the better." Then he continued on about using a British accent instead of addressing software use. "I just don't think they understand that I could really talk in a British accent," he said in British-ish accent. "In a way that like, I could actually record a whole record. The same way I could do it in an English accent, I could do it in the UK accent." I think that was his way of proving that he could record in an accent instead of using AI to generate one for him.
This avoidance isn't so much denial as it is an example of how some artists avoid discussing the complexities around AI use because, in their minds, it's fine to use as long as there's still an element of human contribution and creativity. To them, it's a tool. This is the same position artists like Two Shell and Empire Of The Sun's Luke Steele have taken. Tyga, who just put out his album $tarface, had a similar take.
Which leads us to Fenix's latest comment about AI use. On a recent instagram post, the artist responded to comment that urged him to directly admit to AI usage. Fenix Flexin's response:
never said I didn't use Al, i said it had nun to do w recording process. I didn't even know what da app was till we mixed it and erbody started commenting. ain't nothing wrong w using new technology as a tool keep up w the times or get left behind
