Tyga Fires Back at Doja Cat and Pitchfork's 0/10 Score: 'AI Is Just a Tool'
Rapper Tyga released his ninth studio album, $tarface, in late July — a follow-up to his 2025 project NSFW. After confirming he used AI in the making of the record, the backlash came fast: Doja Cat, who has collaborated with him on two songs, criticized him during a livestream on Wednesday, August 12, and Pitchfork gave the album a 0/10, its lowest possible score. According to NME, Tyga has since addressed both on TMZ Live.
Where AI actually came in
In an earlier interview, Tyga described AI as a "tool," comparing the pushback to the early backlash against Auto-Tune — something he says critics eventually came around to as artists made it their own.
He said AI was used specifically for arrangement elements: generating a certain '80s synth tone, or a guitar solo, on demand. He maintains the album's production and "all the vocals" were not touched by AI.
What Doja Cat and Pitchfork said
Doja Cat brought up the topic unprompted during her livestream, criticizing Tyga "for making an AI album" using a genital-related insult. The clip was reposted by fan account Doja HQ on August 13 and spread from there.
Pitchfork's review ended with a 0/10 score, calling $tarface "smug and complacent," and wrote that the album's existence made the world worse.
Tyga's response
Addressing Doja Cat, Tyga said on TMZ Live that he still likes her, but countered that she made a "demonic album," without specifying which one. On Pitchfork, he said he wasn't previously aware of the outlet, only that "the devil uses a pitchfork."
He again defended his use of AI, saying every song was written by him, that after 15 years in the industry he wanted to try something different, and described $tarface as a persona and aesthetic entirely separate from himself.
A divided music industry
Musicians who openly acknowledge using AI in their work remain a minority, including Empire of the Sun's Luke Steele, who called AI "another tool," like a very smart guitar pedal, and Boy George, who has said he used AI to help write the song "We Will Dance Again," which was later removed from Bandcamp for violating its AI policy.
Critics include Mac DeMarco, SZA, and Lorde; producer Jack Antonoff has sharply criticized musicians who use AI, while Daft Punk's Thomas Bangalter called AI a way of "bypassing the creative process." Streaming platforms Apple Music and Spotify have also recently outlined their own approaches to AI-generated music.