Tyga Admits Using AI on New Album '$TARFACE', Says It's 'No Different' From Auto-Tune

Tyga has confirmed that artificial intelligence helped shape parts of his new album $TARFACE, ending days of fan speculation over the project's slick '80s-inspired sound.

The West Coast rapper addressed the rumours in a new interview, admitting that AI played a role in the creation of $TARFACE.

'We definitely used AI as a [tool],' Tyga said. 'And I know people are going to be mad about me saying this, but it's where technology is going.'

The admission comes after listeners questioned whether the album's synth-heavy production and retro polish had been made with help from AI music tools. Tyga did not deny it. Instead, he compared the reaction to the backlash Auto-Tune once received before becoming a normal part of modern music.

'It's no different than when Auto-Tune came out,' he said. 'Some people were opposed to it, but real artists took it and used it.'

'All the Vocals Are Me'

Tyga pushed back against the idea that AI replaced his own performance or writing.

He said the technology was used for production elements, such as quickly generating '80s-style synths or a guitar solo, rather than creating the heart of the record.

'As far as the writing, all the vocals are all me,' he said. 'There's nothing wrong with using technology as a tool.'

The rapper said he had avoided discussing his process before because he saw it as similar to a magician revealing how a trick works.

'Why are people overexplaining how they make s*** that's good?' he said. 'If you like it, you like it; if you don't, you don't. I don't care.'

For Tyga, the point of $TARFACE is not to defend the tools behind it, but to create a feeling.

A New Alter Ego and New Sound

$TARFACE also introduces a new persona for the rapper, one built around an exaggerated, '80s-influenced character.

Tyga described $tarface as someone outside the expectations attached to his usual catalogue.

After '15 years of hits,' he said he is not worried about critics who may dislike the shift.

His alter ego, he explained, 'could do whatever the f*** he wants to do' and exists on 'a completely different' wave.

That freedom appears central to the album's retro direction, which leans into glossy synths, guitar textures and a sound far removed from much of Tyga's older material.

Fenix Flexin Link Fuelled Rumours

The AI debate around Tyga also intensified because of his connection to Fenix Flexin.

Fenix's chart-climbing single 'RUBBERZ' sparked its own controversy earlier this summer, with some listeners alleging that it was made entirely with AI. Fenix has denied using AI tools.

Tyga and Fenix later recorded an unreleased track titled 'Lavish,' which features similar '80s-pop influences. Footage of them in the studio only added to speculation that the sound was part of a larger AI-driven trend.

Tyga said the two artists were simply experimenting in similar directions at the same time.

'When he came to the studio, I was already deep into working on my '80s-sounding music,' he said.

Tyga's admission lands at a tense moment for music, where AI remains one of the industry's most divisive issues. Some fans see it as a threat to creativity and originality. Others view it as another studio tool, no different from sampling, drum machines or pitch correction.

Tyga clearly falls into the second camp. He knows the backlash is coming, but he does not sound worried. For him, AI did not make $TARFACE. It helped him build the world around it.