Timbaland created a dream collaboration with The Notorious B.I.G. using AI-generated vocals, and the hip-hop community has mixed feelings

• Timbaland has created a dream collaboration with The Notorious B.I.G. using AI-generated vocals.
• The hip-hop community has mixed feelings, however.

Timbaland has teased a dream collaboration with The Notorious B.I.G. using AI-generated vocals — but the hip-hop community has mixed feelings.

On Tuesday, the superstar producer took to his Instagram to share a snippet of the song, in which Biggie, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1997, can be heard rapping over a Timbo beat.

"So I'm sitting here with my brother Creatr God, and we know that it's a lot of talk about AI, and we know how the feelings of violating certain things, but let me tell you something," Timbaland said.

"I gotta share something I've been working on because I always wanted to do this and I never got a chance to," he added. "I always wanted to work with Big and I never got a chance to... until today. It came out right!"

He then pressed play on the song which featured AI Biggie name-dropping the late Nipsey Hussle and Pop Smoke.

In the caption, Timbo tagged Jay-Z's longtime engineer Young Guru, who's been vocal in his criticism of the technology.

"This rite here @creatrgod @youngguru763 I had tooo AI is timbo everything original timbo x biggie," it read.

Some people, including rapper Offset, were quick to compliment Timbo on his work.

"Man this Shìt sound hard asf," Offset commented on Timbo's post. Rapper Chuck D commented only with a series of fire emojis.

One fan wrote: "That shit hard no lie tho."

Many, however, criticized the 51-year-old producer for recreating Biggie's voice using artificial intelligence, with some calling it "disrespectful."

"Man this just doesn't feel right tho," commented one fan. "AI will never replace authentic penmanship."

Another wrote: "This ain't ethical at all. Disgusting work all around. What happened to resting in peace?"

One fan described it as "21st Century piracy."

"Some of that A.I be heat," they wrote. But it steals opportunity for artists / DJ's / Producers… who work real hard to protect, promote and preserve their art. I could dig it if permission was given and royalties were being paid. But to create new mixes with an artist voice and promo it is tough."

A number of AI-generated covers have recently gone viral.

An AI-generated cover of Beyoncé's "Cuff It" featuring Rihanna's vocals has amassed over 1.5 million views on Twitter, while an AI-generated version of Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, covering the Plain White T's' "Hey There Delilah" has also amassed over 750,000 views on YouTube.

Veteran music and copyright lawyer Alexander Ross, who is a partner at UK law firm Wiggin and has 25 years of experience working in music law, recently told Insider that the makers of such covers could be breaking the law.

"There are all sorts of grounds for infringement proceedings there," he said.