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There is a little island in the Caribbean known as the Dominican Republic. Poverty is the way of life for many of the citizens there due to ongoing corruption with police officers and government officials. The Dominican Republic has long been known for producing breakthrough artists that are recognized globally, such as Romeo Santos and the now disbanded band Aventura. Recently, there’s been a new genre of music created by the island called “Dembow.” This type of music follows a faster tempo that’s heavily influenced by Jamaican riddim. Dembow has created opportunities for young impoverished teenagers to break out from the cycle of poverty they are stuck in. Many Dominican artists have been recognized for this new genre; Tokischa and El Alfa, for example, are two artists that have used Dembow to give themselves a better life and influence the new generation of Dominican teens.

Africans have influenced almost every culture worldwide. During the creation of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, Africans were in every part of the world and they left their mark in almost all cultures today. Music was no exception: Afrobeats, a genre of music influenced by Nigeria and Ghana, was used as protest music to resist social injustice and corruption. During Jim Crow America, Jazz music also rose into fame, this genre of music was influenced by African spirituals and instrumentals. Jazz music was also a form of protest music for African Americans in the United States and influenced R&B, rock, and so many more musical genres. Now, Afro-beats is a genre of music that has influenced countless well-known artists like Wizkid and Rema.

Recently, the song “Pile” has been trending on TikTok, yet the AI version song seems to just as (if not more) popular. The original song has 74 million views, while the AI version has a striking 54 million views. Many influencers on TikTok have even said the AI version is better than the original song. AI doesn’t create anything new; it copies what humans have already created and lacks originality. If AI takes away credit from African artists, music will no longer reflect African ancestry. There will be nothing new but a copy of the old.

AI is a threat to humanity’s culture. Throughout generations, music has been a way to unify people around the world through rhythms and drums that are rooted in African ancestry. No technology can mimic the creativity and soul humans have, it can only copy until music becomes oversaturated and boring. AI music threatens real artists by taking their work and creating a “better” version. Avoid streaming AI songs and look up the original one — it’ll probably be a lot better.