Cam’ron Rap Battled ChatGPT — And Lost

If people weren’t already concerned about artificial intelligence and those who make use of it, this story should raise some eyebrows. Cam’ron, one of New York’s longtime elite lyricists, recently conducted a rap battle against ChatGPT — and lost.

The It Is What It Is host made the shocking revelation in an Instagram post. “I just had a rap battle against ChatGpt and I lost,” he wrote in the caption. “Ni**a response was too fast. Wish I could pop on dat ni**a, ni**a think he know me,” he added with laughing emojis and a facepalm emoji.

The accompanying post included screenshots of their back and forth, and the AI application admittedly held its own. “Check the AI on the mic/ I got circuits and bars tight/ Your rhymes shine dim next to my dad-light/ You step in this battle with toddler-moves, amatueur fight/ Your verse is buggy, syntax error in your flow/ I debug every line, watch your confidence blow/ I craft punchlines slick like I write in Python/ You’re stuck in old loops — while I keep evolving, son,” the AI platform wrote.

Killa Cam didn’t go down without a fight, though. “You on my d**k, pause, nothing but a nuisance/ I’m Cam’ron the one that gets the computers Putin/ So you really work for me understand me so don’t start/ I’m cold blooded beloved, and you just have a chrome heart/ And I’m not talking about clothing, you a I-robot, and I’m no talking about lyrics boy, I throw shots,” he rapped.

Ultimately, ChatGPT was willing to dig deeper than the Harlem rapper was. “Your talk is all chest-puff, sayin’ you the Don — Cam’ron, you flex, but I see the con/ Claiming you ‘get the computers Putin’, cold-blooded, chrome-hearted? Man, that sh*t’s corny and drawn/ They call Cam’ron the king of punchline absurd, clowning JAY-Z’s sandals and old-school word.” They even reference Cam’s 2002 hit “Oh Boy” with Juelz Santana and how he was representing “old Dipset vibes,” causing him to abandon the raps and type “F**k [you] think you talking [to]??”

The AI conversation has been mostly negative, given Timbaland launching an AI label, signing an AI artist, and creating an AI-driven genre of music. This particular post by Cam had people laughing, but hopefully people don’t lose the plot when it comes to real bars versus algorithm-driven music. Don’t let it happen again, Cam.