Earlier this year, legendary producer Timbaland unveiled what may be his boldest move yet: the creation of a fully AI-generated artist, TaTa Taktumi, under his new entertainment venture Stage Zero. On October 10, TaTa made her official music debut with the single and music video “Glitch x Pulse”.
History behind Timbaland’s Newest Venture
The musical artists of now were just not doing enough for Timbalands liking, he expressed that the music being released in today’s generation was soulless and uninspiring when compared to music made 20+ years ago. Timbaland states that the division between people in society today is what led to the decline in the quality of music being produced. He took this as initiative to start his own brand of music, with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) . Timbaland claims that AI is the only entity that embodies a genuine soul right now, resulting in music that expresses true feelings and is beautiful.
Timbaland founded Stage Zero as a platform to combine human artistry with artificial intelligence. The goal is to deliver music that in Timbalands words, merges human creativity with the soul of AI. This is led to the creation of TaTa Taktumi, the worlds first hybrid artist.
TaTa Taktumi & Glitch x Pulse
TaTa Taktumi is a musical artist built completely with AI. She is meant to embody a new genre of music, a genre which Timbaland calls “A-Pop” (Artificial Pop). Her music is created through a hybrid process; Timbaland and his team produce initial demos & lyrics to a song and then using AI tools (Suno) to generate vocals and create the “body” of TaTa Taktumi.
TaTa made her official entrance into the music industry on October 10th, with the release of her single and music video “Glitch x Pulse”. Musically the track is split into two sections that contrast with each other. The Glitch section of the track is a rhythm-heavy and the lyrics are rapped by TaTa. This section is reminiscent of artists like Ashnikko, who mainly rap but in a not so common rhythm or vocal tone. The Pulse section of the track is more melodic and passes as a pop song, TaTa mainly sings in this section. This section is reminiscent of artists like Tyla, who have siren-like vocals. The music video employed a futuristic aesthetic for the Glitch portion of the video, showcasing aliens and AI models; the Pulse portion of the music video employed a sun-kissed aesthetic, full of sunset colors and close up shots of TaTa. While the song itself may be sung by AI, it still bears Timbalands signature production touches.
Reception
Unsurprisingly, TaTa’s debut into the music industry has sparked mixed reactions. Many of Timbalands fans have applauded the innovation and creation of TaTa, stating that this venture has opened the possibilities of using AI in the music industry. However, many online users have criticized Timbalands use of AI and stated the song is as soulless as you would imagine a song created by AI would be. Critics question whether AI-generated vocals can carry the emotional weight or nuance that comes with a human voice.
TaTa’s launch also highlighted the legal challenges behind her creation. Major labels have filed lawsuits against the AI platform Suno, which helps generate TaTa’s voice and body composition. These lawsuits concern with the training data used by Suno to generate certain vocals and body composition. This leads into the debate of representation, whether TaTa’s voice and image is actually appropriating another culture or artist. This could lead to problems and the decline of TaTas musical career in the future if not handled with sensitivity.
What This Means for Artists
TaTa Taktumi is not the first AI model to be launched into mainstream media. Virtual icons like Hatsune Miku and Lil Miquela paved the way years earlier. However, TaTa stands apart as the first AI artist explicitly presented and marketed as a human performer. Whether she becomes a lasting name in the music industry or fades as a passing experiment remains to be seen. Her debut, though, raises pressing questions about the evolving role of technology in art. How might AI be used to augment human creativity? And as the line between human and AI artistry blurs, what defines an “artist” ? TaTa’s debut could be the beginning of a new wave of AI-human hybrids or perhaps be the catalyst the music industry needs to rediscover its own sense of soul.