Key Takeaways
- Fenix Flexin has now admitted he used AI software Treblo on his viral synth-pop hit "Rubberz," saying it didn’t affect the recording process and calling new technology a tool you either "keep up" with or "get left behind."
- The admission follows months of denials and online sleuthing, including producer Medasin's breakdown and Treblo's own detection tool flagging the track as "very likely" made with its model, which the company says has a false-positive rate below 1 in 10,000.
- Despite the controversy over its AI origins and Fenix's pivot to an '80s-style, British-accented synth-pop sound, "Rubberz" has become the first fully AI-generated track to hit the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 58.
Fenix Flexin has admitted that he used AI software for his viral synth-pop hit "Rubberz," after months of pushing back on accusations about it.
In a comment shared on Instagram, which can be seen below, Fenix responded to a fan who said the rapper should admit to using AI after Tyga admitted he used the technology on his latest album, Starface.
"Never said I didn’t use AI, I said it had nun to do [with the] recording process," he wrote. "I didn’t even know what da app was till we mixed it and [everybody] started commenting. Ain’t nothing wrong [with] using new technology as a tool. Keep up [with] the times or get left behind."
There's been speculation that the track used generative AI ever since it was released in June. The Shoreline Mafia member's apparent pivot to '80s-inflected synth-pop, with a British accent, immediately led audiences to suspect the song was AI-generated. According to Stereogum, Fenix initially denied the accusations in a comment on an Instagram post shared by On The Radar.
"No sirrrrrrr, recorded same as all music I do," he wrote in a reply to a comment that accused the song of being AI-generated. "Only difference is auto tune reverb and me using my fake UK accent lol." He also denied the accusations in an interview with Andrew Callaghan for Channel 5.
Purps on the Beat, who is credited as the producer behind the track, also denied the accusations.
Stereogum reported last month that producer Medasin shared a breakdown that alleged the song was "fully" generated using the AI software Treblo.
Treblo has since released a tool that allows people to upload tracks to detect whether they were made using the AI software, and uploading an mp3 of "Rubberz" indicates that it was, in fact, made with Treblo.
The company claimed that the tool "has a false positive rate below 1 in 10,000." Speaking to Marcus Lawrence, the company’s co-founder Ryan Tremblay added: "Someone appears to have used our model to find a sound that millions of people connected with and that’s exciting."
Despite its AI origins, "Rubberz" has received a lot of success, peaking at No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first fully AI-generated track to appear on the chart.
