The estate of late hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur has sent a cease and desist letter to Drake, after the Canadian released a track which uses an AI version of Shakur’s voice to diss Kendrick Lamar.

Billboard reports that the latter states if Drake does not remove ‘Taylor Made Freestlye’ within 24 hours, he will face legal action.

“The estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorised use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” wrote lawyer Howard.

“Not only is the record a flagrant violation of … the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The estate would never have given its approval for this use.

“The unauthorised, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult.”

Drake and Lamar’s feud began after the latter appeared on Future and Metro Boomin’s song ‘Like That’, on which he seemingly claimed superiority over Drake as well as J Cole.

Drake then responded with insults on ‘Push Ups’, which continued on ‘Taylor Made Freestyle’.

The AI imitation of Shakur’s voice lambasted Lamar for not recording a response to ‘Push Up’s and accused him of being pressured by Taylor Swift to not release a single at the same time of her latest album.

As the use of AI increases in music and elsewhere, American politicians have been working to protect artists’ rights. Last month, the state of Tennessee passed the Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act,  banning the use of AI to imitate someone else without consent.