SZA Finds Unreleased Songs Used in AI Training, Accuses Diplo of Targeting Black Creators

The scale of unlicensed music in AI training sets is becoming harder to ignore. A recent Atlantic report identified over 21 million recordings across four datasets, ranging from Bad Bunny to the Cramps. When SZA searched for her own name, the result was 238 tracks—some not yet released to the public.

The singer posted screenshots on Instagram this week, condemning both the practice and the artists who endorse it. “If your a musician and you support this degenerate shit? Your disgusting,” she wrote. She framed the issue as a particularly acute threat to Black creators, who she argued are disproportionately mined for cultural output while lacking legal protections.

Her anger sharpened when pointing to her niece, musician VANS. The 20-year-old had teased an unreleased song online, only to find it absorbed into training data before her career could begin. “Not even using ME to her advantage,” SZA noted. “Now Her unreleased song that she teased and others were stolen.”

The most direct accusation targeted Diplo. SZA claimed the producer holds equity in Suno, an AI music generator, and is “actively attempting to train it on the best and brightest black minds of writers and producers.” She contrasted Black Americans’ 13% population share with their global cultural influence: “I AINT HEARD A WHITE AI SONG YET.. why so disproportionate?” While public investment records don’t confirm Diplo’s stake in Suno, he has been vocal about artists needing to adopt AI or “give up,” and recently praised the software’s rapid improvement.

SZA also amplified Tyler, the Creator’s earlier provocation—“death to all data centers”—recasting the issue not as a fringe concern but as a structural threat to how creative work is valued and controlled.