Tyga has confirmed that his new album $tarface was at least partially made with artificial intelligence, telling an interviewer plainly: "I don't care." Pitchfork and Rolling Stone both reported his remarks on 7 August 2026.

The album, an 80s-indebted project released on 31 July 2026, had already drawn online speculation from fans who suspected AI was involved. Tyga addressed that speculation directly in an interview with Mikey Fresh of Vibe, published 6 August, where he said he used AI "as a tool" and argued it is "no different than when Auto-Tune came out" — a technology some people opposed but real artists adopted.

He drew a specific line around what AI did and did not touch. All the writing and vocals on $tarface were done by him, he said, while AI was used for elements such as 80s-style synths and a guitar solo. Auto-Tune, for readers unfamiliar with the term, is the pitch-correction software that became ubiquitous in pop and hip-hop from the late 1990s onward; Tyga's comparison positions AI as the next tool in that lineage rather than a shortcut that replaces the artist.

Tyga also told Rolling Stone there is "nothing wrong" with using AI on his album, framing the decision as a creative choice rather than something to apologise for. The Vibe interview, conducted before the Pitchfork and Rolling Stone reports, covered his broader embrace of AI in the recording process and touched on personal territory including the passing of his mother.

$tarface arrived on all streaming platforms, with a music video for the track "Affiction" released alongside it, according to Tyga's official Instagram. The album's 80s aesthetic — gauzy synthesisers, retro drum textures — is what initially drew listener suspicion, since those sounds are among the easiest for current AI music tools to generate convincingly.

The scrutiny is not unique to Tyga. Pitchfork's "Is this AI or not?" series previously examined a track by the rapper Fenix Flexin called "Rubberz," which faced similar accusations of being at least partially AI-generated. The series reflects a broader question now running through the music industry: as AI tools grow more capable, listeners, labels and platforms are still working out where the line between a human record and a machine-assisted one actually sits.

For now, Tyga is not hedging. He used AI on his album, he says the writing and vocals are his, and he has no interest in defending the decision beyond the comparison he already made.