Billboard Hot 100 Entry 'Rubberz' Faces AI Allegations

The track “Rubberz” by Los Angeles-based rapper Fenix Flexin, a former member of the duo Shoreline Mafia, has reached number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite its commercial success, the song has become the subject of intense speculation regarding whether it was generated using artificial intelligence.

Critics and industry observers have noted several technical red flags in the recording. Charlie Harding, a songwriter and co-host of the Switched on Pop podcast, pointed to “ghostly backing vocals” and digital artifacts in the percussion that resemble low-bitrate audio files. These characteristics are frequently associated with generative AI models trained on degraded, unlicensed data.

The song’s lyrics have also drawn scrutiny for their repetitive structure and lack of narrative coherence. Producer and YouTuber Curtiss King noted that the lyrics prioritize basic rhyme schemes over meaning, often resulting in nonsensical phrasing. Furthermore, AI detection tools have flagged the single’s cover art and promotional materials as likely being AI-generated, though tests on the audio itself have remained inconclusive.

Fenix Flexin has denied the accusations, attributing the unique vocal style and production quality to heavy use of processing tools like AutoTune. However, experts such as Harding and music critic Anthony Fantano have challenged this explanation, noting that standard vocal processing cannot account for the song’s unusual syncopation or the performer’s apparent inability to replicate the track’s vocal range during live appearances. In several studio performances, the artist has been observed lip-syncing or struggling to match the recorded vocals.

While Fenix Flexin has shared images of Pro Tools session files to defend the song’s legitimacy, skeptics argue that such evidence is insufficient to confirm human authorship. As of now, the debate continues, with some experts suggesting that if the song was indeed AI-generated, it likely utilized an inferior model prone to audible errors.

Source: The Verge