Ghost

Read

<div data-beyondwords-player="true" contenteditable="false"></div>
<p>Last week, short clips branded <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@itsedashman?_t=8beGvBwVAl9&amp;_r=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EDashMan</a>, of the global music sensation Drake (and that is putting it mildly) singing covers of Nigerian hit wonders Burna Boy, Asake and Wizkid started trending on social media. </p>



<p>The clips had come from the deep cult corners of the internet where rising musicians, producers and managers waiting for their big break gather around to exchange cryptic banter and trade insider gossip about the umpteenth gatekeeper of the music world that had done them dirty.</p>



<p>The inhabitants of these corners largely spend their time posting and reporting their works, debating internally with themselves what might go viral on TikTok or what could be so bad it might end up a good subject of a Naija PR post asking followers to guess the celeb years later after fame had met them.</p>



<p>It was from this circle that the little-known producer who goes by EDashMan had been bombarding the internet with his AI-generated covers laced with familiar melodies by Drake. By Sunday, he had attracted over 500k views on TikTok alone.</p>



<h4 id="edashmans-journey-in-music-and-ai">EDashMan&#8217;s journey in music and AI</h4>



<p>Growing up, he was a bit of what you might call the music guy with dexterity with drums, piano and guitar. &#8220;<em>I used to play the drums, piano and guitar but stopped after school,&#8221;</em> he told Technext via email.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img width="1034" height="1293" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/309478463_2346423235515747_7066417918969748232_n.jpg" alt="EDashMan" class="wp-image-190896"/></figure></div>


<p>Then he found himself in the labour market where his skills with musical instruments are not the first items on the calling cards. So he decided that he would spend his time making beats.</p>



<p><em>&#8220;I felt like it would have been a waste to completely stop after all that time so I wondered how I could somehow merge everything together, and that&#8217;s when the idea of producing popped into mind. Since then I&#8217;ve never looked back,&#8221; </em>he said.</p>



<p><a href="https://technext24.com/2022/08/05/streaming-algorithms-afrobeats-gatekeeper/"><strong><em>Read also: How streaming algorithms have become Afrobeat’s biggest gatekeeper</em></strong></a></p>



<p>He studied computer science, so when the AI craze started, it was right up his alley. When contentions started about how AI would affect music and music-making processes, he threw his hat into the ring with his covers. &#8220;AI has always been a huge interest to me,&#8221; he said. Then he dropped his first cover. It was Kanye West singing Gabzy x Melvitto &#8211; 4 Nothin&#8217;. &#8220;I just couldn&#8217;t believe what I was hearing,&#8221; he said.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-tiktok wp-block-embed-tiktok"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="tiktok-embed" cite="https://www.tiktok.com/@itsedashman/video/7225301904048295194" data-video-id="7225301904048295194" data-embed-from="oembed" style="max-width: 605px;min-width: 325px;" > <section> <a target="_blank" title="@itsedashman" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@itsedashman?refer=embed" rel="noopener">@itsedashman</a> <p>Replying to @30<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f4b8.png" alt="💸" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" />billion<img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1fa79.png" alt="🩹" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f90e.png" alt="🤎" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /><img src="https://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/14.0.0/72x72/1f31a.png" alt="🌚" class="wp-smiley" style="height: 1em; max-height: 1em;" /> <a title="aidrake" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/aidrake?refer=embed" rel="noopener">#aidrake</a> <a title="aicover" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/aicover?refer=embed" rel="noopener">#aicover</a> <a title="sungba" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/sungba?refer=embed" rel="noopener">#sungba</a> <a title="funnyvideos" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/funnyvideos?refer=embed" rel="noopener">#funnyvideos</a> <a title="nigerianmemes" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/nigerianmemes?refer=embed" rel="noopener">#nigerianmemes</a> <a title="fyp" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/fyp?refer=embed" rel="noopener">#fyp</a> <a title="viral" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/viral?refer=embed" rel="noopener">#viral</a> <a title="blowthisup" target="_blank" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/blowthisup?refer=embed" rel="noopener">#blowthisup</a> </p> <a target="_blank" title="♬ Sungba (feat. Burna Boy) (Remix) - Asake" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/Sungba-feat-Burna-Boy-Remix-7080066266773424901?refer=embed" rel="noopener">♬ Sungba (feat. Burna Boy) (Remix) &#8211; Asake</a> </section> </blockquote> <script async src="https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js"></script>
</div></figure>



<p>Kanye West, who now goes by Ye, was not a good choice. In EDashMan&#8217;s words, it was &#8220;so bad that I scrapped it.&#8221; Then he tried Drake with Burna Boy. It wasn&#8217;t up to his standard but he posted them anyways.</p>



<p> &#8220;I didn&#8217;t think much of it though. I felt like it could potentially go viral but I was honestly just posting for the fun of it,&#8221; he said.</p>



<p>Then they went viral. &#8220;The views started rising slowly and I didn&#8217;t think it would go far but then it started jumping like crazy&#8230;Next thing I know it&#8217;s all over Instagram and Twitter,&#8221; he added.</p>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img width="1080" height="1349" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/308333111_1225776998201073_8421666086311178514_n.jpg" alt="'The industry is about to change' - A chat with EDashMan, the music producer making banger covers with AI " class="wp-image-190894"/></figure></div>


<p>What are his secrets? How does he make these covers? He won&#8217;t say. In part, he says he wants to protect his secrets, keep viewers coming to him for one, where fans hold vigils in his TikTok comment section waiting for the Drake covers of Omah Lay. But he also says it&#8217;s part of standing in solidarity with &#8220;the community.&#8221;</p>



<p><em>&#8220;I&#8217;m just respecting the wishes of the community,&#8221;</em> EDashMan said. <em>&#8220;Right now we&#8217;re witnessing the worst of AI. Developers are still working on it and the public will know how to do it when the developers are happy with the results. The average person may find it quite difficult to work with,&#8221;</em> he added.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-technext wp-block-embed-technext"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="Ji3hhoCcnI"><a href="https://technext24.com/2023/01/25/malik-afegbua-storytelling-ai-generated-art/">How Malik Afegbua is reimagining African storytelling with AI-generated art</a></blockquote><iframe class="wp-embedded-content" sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" title="&#8220;How Malik Afegbua is reimagining African storytelling with AI-generated art&#8221; &#8212; Technext" src="https://technext24.com/2023/01/25/malik-afegbua-storytelling-ai-generated-art/embed/#?secret=szMc3CgfNz#?secret=Ji3hhoCcnI" data-secret="Ji3hhoCcnI" width="600" height="338" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no"></iframe>
</div></figure>



<p>As AI-generated covers have gained more popularity, debates about copyright laws and the dangers of unbridled artificial intelligence activities have taken centre stage in the music world globally. The TikTok user Ghost Writer posted a song he produced, Heart on My Sleeve, made with AI-generated vocals of Drake and The Weeknd. The song has been streamed almost 20 million times. It has resulted in critics of AI calling for stricter restrictions on the use of AI.</p>



<h4 id="the-music-game-is-about-to-change">The music game is about to change</h4>



<p>But EDashMan says there are aspects of AI that will be game-changing for the music industry in the future. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote><p>&#8220;People are not going to wait around for their favourite artist to drop music. They&#8217;ll just create it themselves, and some of those people are going to make some crazy songs. They may even inspire artists to tap into sounds that they never would have dreamed of trying out,&#8221;.</p></blockquote></figure>


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img width="1080" height="1350" src="https://technext24.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/308566714_192027253287494_2259995750853272688_n.jpg" alt="The architect of the Burna Boy AI-generated covers by Drake has only just begun" class="wp-image-190895"/></figure></div>


<p>Now, his focus is more AI-generated content and more music beats, spending some time in the studio working with artists, dropping what he hopes will become jams.</p>



<p><em>&#8220;More funny AI content that&#8217;s for sure. I post beats as well, they&#8217;ll be more of that and right now I&#8217;m just working with a range of artists and producers expanding my network,&#8221; </em>he said.</p>

‘The industry is about to change’ – A chat with EDashMan, the music producer making banger covers with AI

Technext.ng

Other articles published on Apr 25, 2023

ERC1155 NFT - The Future of Non-Fungible Tokens Unveiled!

Polkadot price analysis: DOT moves to $5.88 under bearish pressure

FTX to Sell LedgerX to California-Based M7 Holdings for $50M

Watch Out MasterCard, Visa is Hiring a Web3 Developer

Binance Announces Launch Of Ether-Based Liquid Staking Product

A closer look at the rise of blockchain detectives

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!