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Music producer Timbaland is facing criticism after fans accused him of using another producer’s beat without permission to train the AI music generation platform, Suno.
The controversy centers around a demo track Timbaland shared online, which he claimed was created using Suno’s AI tools. However, the instrumental and producer tag used in the demo closely resembled a beat made by independent producer K Fresh Music. This sparked accusations of exploitation and unauthorized use of creative work, according to Complex on June 15, 2025.
Listeners quickly noticed the similarities between Timbaland's demo beat and one previously uploaded by K Fresh Music. The producer’s original tag was also left intact in the AI remix. This led many netizens to argue that the beat had simply been repurposed without credit, undermining claims that it was a novel creation by artificial intelligence.
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Curtiss King (@CurtissKing), an indie rapper and producer, was among the first to speak out, posting about the issue on X on June 14, 2025.
Many social media users replied to the tweet, calling the use of AI in this case akin to "theft."
"Sounds like theft to me. AI can’t create yet. It just finds things to imitate so it really is stealing."
Many others shared similar opinions, with some even mentioning going through similar instances.
"This is some shady work. Probably explains how I heard a rendition of my beat on a @breakfastclubam intro," a musician on X said.
"AI needs REAL art to train itself on, that's what people who don't mind AI can't comprehend. They will steal OUR art to make ARTIFICIAL art and sell it back to us," one user commented under Curtiss King's post.
"So the AI is not even creating new sounds its just straight up copying it?" one user replied.
"Omggg brazen theft of music to train AI. Gen AI steals everything 🤬," another user commented
K Fresh's reaction to Timbaland's demo
Producer K Fresh responded on Instagram after receiving messages from followers pointing out the similarities between his work and Timbaland’s AI-generated demo. On June 14, he posted a clip on Instagram with the caption:
"People keep sending me this. I still don’t even know what to think about it."
In a series of posts, he laid out a timeline detailing how the original beat was created, how it ended up in a TikTok freestyle, and how that version was later re-uploaded by Timbaland using Suno. Posting a clip on June 14, 2025, showing the process, he wrote:
"A little chain of events if you will 🤔"
K Fresh is an independent producer and digital creator based in the U.S. According to his Instagram profile (@kfreshmusic), he focuses on making music accessible for independent artists, dancers, and creators.
Timbaland responds to backlash
In response to the growing criticism, Timbaland addressed the matter during an Instagram Live session. He stated that the beat was not his and that he was merely demonstrating what AI could do when remixing music. Adding that the remix was not commercially released and that he had no intention of profiting from the track, he said:
“[I'm] showing the power of a tool and how powerful it is,”
Timbaland also claimed that Ghostface Killah expressed interest in using the remix and that he had been attempting to contact K Fresh to pass along the original beat. He clarified that his role was limited to using the AI tool to create a demonstration, rather than authoring a finished product.
Timbaland previously collaborated with entertainment startup Stage Zero to design and unveil TaTa, an AI-generated artist.
The situation has sparked debate about AI’s role in music and whether tools like Suno can be considered legitimate creative engines when they rely on material from independent producers. It has also raised concerns about power imbalances in the music industry, with established artists being seen as using technology to repackage and potentially profit from the work of smaller creators.
