Story perspectives

AI Scrapes SA Rap Catalog, Artists Warn of Income Loss

6/23/2026

Summary

Story summary

AI generators Suno and Udio scraped South Africa’s rap catalog, producing songs lacking artists’ consent.
The training set includes 12 million YouTube and Spotify tracks and uses verses from Nasty C, Cassper Nyovest, Kwesta and Emtee, sparking fears of lost income, style imitation and voice-cloning.
Nyovest warned AI could disrupt the music industry.
Wits University’s AI & African Music project tests tools.
Industry groups push for collective licensing and royalties.

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Story summary

AI generators Suno and Udio scraped South Africa’s rap catalog, producing songs lacking artists’ consent.
The training set includes 12 million YouTube and Spotify tracks and uses verses from Nasty C, Cassper Nyovest, Kwesta and Emtee, sparking fears of lost income, style imitation and voice-cloning.
Nyovest warned AI could disrupt the music industry.
Wits University’s AI & African Music project tests tools.
Industry groups push for collective licensing and royalties.