SZA blasts AI music for exploiting Black artists, then exposes the shocking stereotypes it keeps generating
“SZA CTRL Tour” by thecomeupshow is licensed under CC BY 2.0. and “SZA CTRL Tour Toronto 2017 6” by The Come Up Show from Canada is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
She doesn’t seem okay with AI taking over art.
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AI is now being used as a tool in the music industry, but now, as things stand, it seems to be taking the world by storm, with the gap between the original and AI-generated stuff slowly closing. Artists are raising concerns, and among them, SZA seems to be the loudest lately. The artist has dropped sharp opinions about AI, stating that it is exploiting black artists, as the covers made from AI are taking the spotlight over actual artists.
As per i-d reports, she raised concerns over AI and believes that it is specifically ruining the music, especially for Black artists. She shed light on Olivia Dean, saying she has just gotten a breakthrough, but now her AI song covers are trending and appear to be taking away her spotlight. SZA further mentioned that with this AI production, weird, stereotypical music is being produced, which is hampering black artists’s and their growth in the industry.
Her exact words in the interview were, “I feel like I’m at war because of AI, it’s happening disproportionately with Black music,” she continues. “Why am I hearing AI covers of Olivia Dean, when Olivia Dean just came the **** out? She can’t even collect the streams. I’m also really offended by the type of Black music that’s coming out of AI. Weird, stereotypical struggle music.” With these comments, she raises concerns about the actual artists affected by AI music.
SZA might have ranted about AI, but Olivia seems to be climbing the charts
SZA’s concern about Olivia Dean and the number of AI covers might be fair, but Olivia Dean, with her music, seems to be making waves with her songs. She won the Grammy’s Best New Artist 2026 Award for her famous songs like Rein Me in, So Easy, and Man I need. Additionally, she has won multiple awards at the British Music Awards and was also named the British Best Singer for 2026.
Olivia Dean is gradually rising on the charts, and her AI covers are becoming common enough in the community to be identified by artists like SZA. As of yet, she has not responded to these covers and is seemingly quite lenient about the creative use of her music. Even without her responding, AI music seems to be becoming a genre in itself.
Coming back to SZA, a widely recognized artist, her AI concern could stem from her passion. But with the rise in AI usage, the human-generated content, especially art, might always be valued.
Published: Mar 6, 2026 05:00 pm