Kehlani is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to artificial intelligence in music. The Grammy-nominated R&B artist recently shared her feelings after learning that Xania Monet, a virtual performer created with AI, signed a three-million-dollar deal with Hallwood Media and broke into the Billboard charts. For Kehlani, that moment was not about innovation. It was about the loss of space for real musicians who dedicate their lives to their craft.
She addressed her frustration directly. “This is so beyond out of our control. Nothing and no one on Earth will ever be able to justify AI to me,” she said. Her reaction came as news spread about Monet’s chart success. She reached No. 25 on the Emerging Talents chart. She also held the No. 21 spot on the Hot Gospel Songs list. The project was led by poet and designer Talisha Jones. She used the AI program Suno to turn her poetry into fully produced tracks.
Kehlani’s response did not stop there. In a detailed post, she explained her sadness for artists trying to break through while opportunities are being handed to technology. She wrote, “1. i’m genuinely sad for people who are trying to come up and their space is being taken up by a computer program.
2. people saying ‘damn i don’t care she’s so relatable.’ IT, not she, is taking all of the data it’s collected on us and what we want, and is tailoring to us. even down to the voice. 3. ‘well the creator is a poet who can’t sing but wanted to make her ideas come to life’ maybe she should write a poetry book. i love to support a good poet. i cannot paint. so im not going to create Al paintings and sell them, taking up space from up and coming painters. this is the antithesis of art. just because you can don’t mean you should. art is not a money grab. music means something significant to culture, to humanity, to people. me personally i’m going to value it that way for the rest of my life.”
Fans echoed her concerns, reminding the industry that authenticity and emotion cannot be programmed.
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