Summary:
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SZA expresses concern over the impact of AI-generated music on Black artists’ streaming numbers and creativity.
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Many artists, including SZA, are calling on tech companies to stop the “assault on human creativity” by AI.
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As the problem grows, SZA sees the fight against AI as central to her creative purpose.
In a new cover interview with i-D Magazine, Grammy-winning artist SZA argued that AI-generated covers are disproportionately impacting Black artists and cutting into their real streaming numbers.
“Why am I hearing AI covers of Olivia Dean, when Olivia Dean just came the fuck out?” SZA said. “She can’t even collect the streams. I’m also really offended by the type of Black music that’s coming out of AI. Weird, stereotypical struggle music.”
The comments land as Dean’s sophomore album, “The Art of Loving,” has topped the U.K. Albums Chart for multiple non-consecutive weeks since its release in September 2025 and earned her a Grammy for best new artist in February.
SZA framed the issue as bigger than chart competition. “It’s happening disproportionately with Black music,” she said, adding: “I’m not up against the pop girls. I’m not up against the R&B girls. I’m up against anti-intellectualism and doing things easy.”
In April 2024, more than 200 artists, including Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, Stevie Wonder, and Pearl Jam, signed an open letter through the Artists Rights Alliance calling on tech companies and AI developers to stop what they described as an “assault on human creativity.”
“We must protect against the predatory use of AI to steal professional artists’ voices and likenesses, violate creators’ rights, and destroy the music ecosystem,” CNBC the letter read. Paul McCartney has also weighed in, urging the U.K. government to protect artists from proposed AI copyright changes. “We’re the people, you’re the government. You’re supposed to protect us,” Yahoo! McCartney told the BBC.
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The scale of the problem is growing. Streaming platform Deezer reported that 50,000 fully AI-generated songs were being uploaded to its platform every day in 2025, Rolling Stone Philippines while the platform also found that up to 85% of all streams on AI-generated music were fraudulent that year.
The artist, whose “Luther” collaboration with Kendrick Lamar ran for 13 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, said the fight against AI is now central to her creative purpose as she works on her third album.
“I feel like I’m at war because of AI,” she said.
