Can AI Rap?

By: Emma Paff

AI has been a controversial topic since it first became mainstream in the 2020s. The idea of bots replacing humans for efficiency purposes has sparked widespread debates. AI is of course advancing rapidly, now able to write, compose, and produce music by pulling from thousands of databases containing human work. As it may soon become a dominant force in the music industry, artificially generated music has become a huge topic of discussion.  

One main point about AI-generated music is that it lacks soul. It can’t experience emotions or truly relate and connect with humans, making it difficult to allow it into such a creative and intimate space. If musicians end up competing with an algorithmic composer, authenticity and artistic expression could gradually be phased out of our beloved industry. Some speculate that by joining forces with AI, music will become a lost art form.  

An artificial intelligence music creation program called Suno was released to the public on December 20th, 2023. The program allows users to create songs by inputting text prompts and selecting a style. The styles are related to the production, allowing the user to choose the genre, mood, and tone, from words like dark, chill, acoustic guitar, opera, mutation funk, etc. Suno then generates its own lyrics and beat based on user input. It gives the user 2 options of the song to listen to and generates its own album cover.  

The more I explored Suno and investigated the potential implications of AI music, the more curious I became about the possibility of it replacing musicians in the future. Therefore, I wanted to test AI’s ability to tell a story, set a tone, and use descriptive language in a song. To do this, I prompted Suno to make three different tracks with the same outlining concept: walking to class on a hot summer’s day. To maintain uniformity across the songs without establishing a specific tone or mood, I opted for a simple style by only prompting it to use a male voice and create a rap song. For each song, I added more descriptive language to the prompt to see how the output would change in terms of depth and emotional sincerity.  Disclaimer: These pieces were created by artificial intelligence. No authorship or ownership is claimed by me.  

Track: A Summer’s Day #1 

Prompt: Create a rap song. You are a college student walking to class on a summer day. Use Clean Language 

Style: Male Voice, Rap  

For the first song, I wanted to keep the prompt simple to see what it would be able to create on its own with limited details. I narrowed down the description, leaving out emotional details, to discern if it would choose to add those without being prompted to. The output was an interesting combination of an upbeat and motivating track coupled with a gravely male-sounding voice.  

The AI lyricist incorporates a lot of literary devices throughout the track. I noticed this was a trend in the prior songs I had prompted Suno to make. I find it to be really hit or miss with the comparisons it chooses to generate. For example, it metaphorically stated that the sun felt hotter than leather. Leather isn’t a material that I normally consider to be hot, but technically speaking, the sun would be hotter.  

AI did expand on the prompt by describing the walk through campus to class, like the cracks in the sidewalk, hearing people passing by chatting, and seeing students play frisbee. Other than the chorus motivating the listener to keep walking, I didn’t find any lyrics that I could connect to on an emotional level. However, I did not prompt it with any, and I could visualize the environmental descriptions of the campus that it incorporated, including seeing a professor in socks and sandals, which now I can’t unsee. Overall, the track was entertaining in the sense that I knew AI had created it, but it did not resonate with me on a deeper level.  

Track: A Summer’s Day #2  

Prompt: Create a rap song about walking to class on a summer day. You are running late and have to walk up five flights of stairs. You are wearing a backpack. You trip on a step. You make it to class 10 minutes late.  Use Clean Language 

Style: Male Voice, Rap  

For this prompt, I wanted to add more detail about the environment and actions but still leave out emotionally descriptive language to see how that would enhance the song. This track has a twangy boom bap beat with a male-sounding voice that is more intense and hammering compared to the last track. Adding more detail to the prompt did increase the descriptive language. The AI artist detailed the physical exertion experienced during the stair climb, noting profuse sweating, labored breathing that caused lung discomfort, and the heavy weight of the backpack. It highlighted the emotion of embarrassment when tripping on the step by stating, “Pride hits the floor,” and how the moment was replaying in their head, which is common for people when something embarrassing happens to them. I think this track was able to strike more of a chord for me because I can relate to the feeling of embarrassment.  

Track: A Summer’s Day #3 

Prompt: Create a rap song. It’s a hot summer day, and you are on campus walking to class. You feel anxious because you are running late. You have five flights of stairs to climb. Sweat drips down your face and back, and your calves are burning; you feel uncomfortable and tired. You trip and stumble on a step, feeling embarrassed, you get back up. You arrive 10 minutes late for class. Your cheeks are red and your breathing is heavy. Use Clean Language  

Style: Male Voice, Rap  

For the last track, I outlined the emotions experienced during the trek to class to see how or if it would expand in a way I could relate to. “A Summer’s Day #3” has a melodic beat with a male-sounding voice. It sounds the most autotuned out of the 3 songs. The generator expanded on the details using literary devices, comparing a beating heart to a drum line and a head to a furnace. While the emotional state was not explicitly conveyed, the literary devices used hinted at underlying feelings. It once again implied embarrassment, but this time it was for being late to class, catching the professor’s eye, and having everyone stare.  

After listening to all 3 songs, I concluded that the AI-generated music lacked soul and authenticity. I noticed that a lot of emotions correlated more with the physical state of the body rather than the mental state. I wonder if this is due to not being able to experience human emotions or not having enough information to properly replicate them. The prompts I chose could have skewed the results since they are not necessarily emotionally driven. Even so, it’s hard to disregard the fact that AI can make creative choices and relate to us in some capacity. While it could certainly be a valuable tool for music creation, I don’t believe it can truly replicate the connection we experience with human musicians and their art. If you are interested in making your own tracks, the Suno app is available on iOS, Android, and a web browser.