Rapper Insists He ‘Freestyled’ Hit Song. Critics Claim It’s AI Slop.

Many music fans believe that one of the songs of the summer was generated by artificial intelligence.

The debate has been raging for months about Fenix Flexin’s single “Rubberz,” which debuted back in June. It currently sits at No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

“Rubberz” sounds like a synth-pop single with lyrics about “diamond chains,” “bankrolls on the table,” and not being able to “sleep through the night.” The overall sound of the song raised suspicion, as it’s very different from Fenix Flexin’s typical rap songs. Fenix Flexin’ also has a distinctive voice that is totally changed in “Rubberz.” 

The controversy reached a fever pitch over the weekend when independent music producer Medasin posted a video claiming he had figured out how Fenix Flexin’ used AI to create the song using a platform called Treblo, as Wired reported.

“There’s just way too many coincidences,” Medasin told the outlet of his research into the AI-generation tool. “It is just a mathematical impossibility that he did not use Treblo.”

Fenix Flexin’ and the song’s producer Purps on the Beat have denied using AI to come up with the track, with the rapper saying he “freestyled” the lyrics, Wired reported. He responded to accusations of the song being AI-generated in June, saying, “No sirrrrrrr, recorded same as all music I do! Only difference is auto-tune reverb and me using my fake uk accent lol.”

As with most AI accusations, it’s hard to know for sure which side is telling the truth. But the owners of Treblo are glad for the publicity and created a new tool to detect Treblo use.

“We think normal people and charting artists alike should be free to explore and create with new tools. However, we also think listeners should know what they’re hearing, and streaming services should have the tools to provide a great experience for their users,” a blog post on the AI site says. Running the song “Rubberz” through the new Treblo detection tool determines it to be “very likely Treblo.” 

“Someone appears to have used our model to find a sound that millions of people connected with, and that’s exciting,” Treblo co-founder Ryan Tremblay told Wired.