If 2024 was the year of music beef highlighted by Drake versus Kendrick Lamar, then 2025 is going to end with Xania Monet versus… everybody?
The controversial AI-artist returned with a brand new song on Friday (Dec. 19), aiming at artists like Kehlani and critics who deem the creation “not real” and have slammed AI artists for ripping off actual singers.
Titled “Say My Name With Respect,” the AI model, operated by Telisha “Nikki” Jones, digs at Kehlani about the “Folded” singer’s belief that AI isn’t to be respected, particularly Xania, who was given a $3 million contract. In November, Xania made more Billboard history when she became the first AI artist to appear on the Adult R&B Airplay chart as “How Was I Supposed to Know?” debuted at No. 30.
“Funny how you went to the media first/ Talking about my pen like you know my work/ You don’t know the nights I cried to write/ Or how many songs healed somebody’s life/ You say I ain’t real/ You say I don’t create/ But your voice shake a little every time you create because deep down you know I’m destined to shine,” Monet sings.
She continues: “You keep saying I’m not a real artist, right/ But somehow my songs still change somebody’s night/ People say my lyrics saved them, that’s real art.”
Although Xania doesn’t mention Kehlani specifically by name, in the video uploaded to Instagram, cutouts of Kehlani’s previous messages about AI appear, along with screenshots from detractors and commenters who aren’t on the AI wave.
After news broke of Xania’s multi-million dollar record deal, Kehlani took to social media in September and said AI is “beyond” the control of actual musicians.
“There is an AI R&B artist who just signed a multimillion-dollar deal… and the person is doing none of the work. This is so beyond out of our control,” Kehlani said in the since-deleted clip. “Nothing and no one on Earth will ever be able to justify AI to me. I don’t respect it.”
Victoria Monét, from whom Xania Monet draws some inspiration, echoed Kehlani’s sentiments in an interview in Vanity Fair.
“It’s hard to comprehend that, within a prompt, my name was not used for this artist to capitalize on,” the Grammy Award-winner said. “I don’t support that. I don’t think that’s fair. When that name starts to ring bells in a certain way, it can easily be mixed up with my brand. It’s not ideal.”
While there’s no word if Kehlani will respond to the diss, one thing is for sure: Jones and her creation believe they are here to stay, even as AI artists continue to face backlash across genres, from country to gospel.
