Nanette and Filah Lah Lah stand firm against AI: a quest for authenticity in the music industry

The rise of AI-generated music has not landed well with many local South African artists and continues to spark debate among the creatives and fans. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has since been a touchy subject within the music industry, especially amongst the artists who still maintain the organic way of creating music.

South African R&B singer Nanette has taken a firm stance against the use of artificial intelligence, making it known that she does not support its use.

This comes after the controversial podcaster Rea Gopane’s hit song “Suka!” sparked debate on social media about how AI is causing a huge shift in how music is created. Gopane was accused of using AI to create his music

The “Painfully Happy” creator recently wrote on X that AI is no substitute for human creativity and is diminishing the work of hardworking composers. 

“Lemme continue making my real music, like a real musician,” she wrote.

“I stand by what I said!! AI is NOT a creative, and you’re not one either if you punch shit into a prompt and steal gifted, hardworking composers’ work,” the musician added.

Lemme continue making my real music, like a real musician.

— #painfullyhappy 🥀 (@officialnanette) January 23, 2026

Her fans praised her dedication to creating authentic music and expressed their appreciation for her authentic creativity in the booth. 

However, others argued that she should embrace AI as it would unlock new sounds and offer new tools to improve her creativity.

“Learn how to integrate AI into your craft. It doesn’t mean use it for all the creativity, but it can surely help advance it,” said one X user.

“Don’t be short-sighted. Artists were against autotune, but now it’s the norm. Go through history and look at all the advancements of technology in all industries. You all just have to find a way to use it for your benefit. Ultimately, the consumer decides,” another user added.

“Suka!”, the allegedly AI-generated amapiano song by Gopane, was released in December and has reportedly climbed the music charts with over 1.2 million streams, as well as a peak position of number 7 on Apple Music South Africa’s Top 100. 

Another R&B singer and songwriter, Filah Lah Lah, whose real name is Reabetswe Fila Ranamane, has also expressed her disappointment in a post that painted her defeat.

“Been in studio all day, blissfully creating, applying my mind, my body and my spirit to what I’m making, and now I’m reading tweets which are stating (with absolute conviction and certainty) that I am wasting my time. Lol,” she wrote.

Been in studio all day, blissfully creating, applying my mind, my body and my spirit to what I’m making and now I’m reading tweets which are stating (with absolute conviction and certainty) that I am wasting my time. Lol.

— Filah-lah-lah-lah (@Filah_lah_lah) January 24, 2026

Meanwhile, Gopane explained that AI could be used as a creative tool for faster experimentation. 

Speaking to “IOL”, he revealed that he uses AI as a production and creative accelerator, similar to how artists once embraced new instruments or software. He added that the vision, direction, emotion and final decisions are entirely human.

Gopane had a busy year in 2025, releasing several singles, including “Lala Nami”, “Woza Kimi”, “Ngiyazizwa”, “The Pulse” and “Thinking of You”, among others.