Doja Cat publicly blasted Tyga for using artificial intelligence on his new album $tarface during a livestream on Wednesday, 12 August, calling the rapper 'a penis' before Tyga fired back by describing her recent work as 'demonic' while insisting he still has affection for her.
The clash between Doja Cat and Tyga, two artists who have previously collaborated on hits, has quickly turned into one of the latest flashpoints in the growing debate over AI's role in music.
Tyga recently began promoting $tarface, an album he has openly described as using AI-generated elements to help create its 1980s-inspired sound, including synths and guitars. For fans who mainly know him for hip-hop hits and radio singles, the project marks a sharp left turn.
Doja Cat's attack was not delivered in a measured industry panel, but during a social media livestream, where she abruptly offered her opinion on Tyga's use of the technology.
'Nobody asked me anything about Tyga, but I felt like saying this,' she told viewers, before dropping the line that quickly circulated across fan accounts and music publications. 'Tyga is a penis for making an AI album.' Her criticism was unequivocal and quickly attracted attention online.
Doja Cat, Tyga and the AI Fault Line
Doja Cat and Tyga are not strangers taking shots from opposite corners of the internet. They have shared studio credits twice, first on a 2019 remix of her breakout track Juicy, then again in 2022 on Freaky Deaky. Those collaborations linked the two artists well before their latest disagreement over AI-generated music.
That history is partly why her choice to name him specifically without being asked about him attracted attention. This was not a general critique of AI in music, although her comment made her opposition to Tyga's use of the technology clear.
It was a direct shot at a former collaborator, linked to a very current and very public debate about where the line sits between creative experimentation and the replacement of human creativity with AI.
Tyga, 36, chose not to ignore it. Appearing on TMZ Live after the comments circulated online, he responded with his own criticism. 'Listen, I love Doja, but she made a demonic album,' he said, apparently referring to the imagery and themes associated with her recent music. He then immediately softened the blow. 'But I still love her.'
There was no elaboration on what he meant by 'demonic,' making it unclear whether the remark was a serious criticism or simply a counterpunch to Doja Cat's insult.Doja Cat has previously faced online accusations surrounding supposedly 'demonic' imagery, including over artwork and tattoos, claims she has addressed in the past.
Nothing in Tyga's comments confirms any deeper personal rift, so any speculation about long-term bad blood between Doja Cat and Tyga remains just that.
Tyga Defends $tarface and His Use of AI
Where Tyga has been far more specific is in defending precisely how AI was used on $tarface. He has framed the technology not as a replacement for his own creative work, but as another production tool.
'It's supposed to give you an experience and a feeling. But we definitely used AI as a [tool],' he said. He anticipated backlash even then. 'I know people are going to be mad about me saying this, but it's where technology is going. It's no different than when AutoTune came out. Some people were opposed to it, but real artists took it and used it.'
On TMZ Live, he pushed the same line more plainly, insisting he had not outsourced the entire creative process. According to Tyga, AI was brought in for production elements, including retro-style synths and guitars, while he wrote the lyrics and performed the vocals himself. His argument is that the record remains his creative work even though AI played a role in its production.
In July, Tyga cast $tarface as part of a broader mid-career reinvention. After roughly 15 years in the industry, he said, the old genre boundaries and purity tests no longer interest him.
'I just feel like there's no rules anymore. You don't have to put yourself in a box on what things have to be creatively,' he explained. 'This is the first project that people are seeing that's completely different than other things that I've done.'
He also described $TARFACE, stylised in capital letters and with a dollar sign, as a 'completely separate artist, completely separate aesthetic and everything.' That alter ego framing is deliberate, with Tyga saying the character gives him greater freedom to experiment outside the sound associated with his established career.
Representatives for Doja Cat and Tyga have been approached for additional comment, according to reports. No apology has been offered on either side, and no further escalation has surfaced publicly.
For now, the spat between Doja Cat and Tyga sits at the intersection of a personal exchange between former collaborators and a much larger industry debate over how far artists should go in using AI to create music
