A track of nearly 12 minutes called "I'm Back" went up on YouTube in early September under Eminem's name. It borrows the title of one of his real songs from 26 years ago, but it is an AI imitation of the rapper, Futurism reported. Within about a week it had passed 100,000 views and was ranking near the top of YouTube's results for "Eminem", ahead of genuine tracks such as "Superman" and "Shake That".
Futurism said a careful listener can tell: the beat is cheap, and the vocals sound plasticky, even though the tools now give a passable copy of his voice and delivery. Even so, many commenters took it as a real comeback and praised him for not giving up. Nothing in the title says it is unofficial, and the video carries no YouTube AI label. Only the description calls it a fan-made project inspired by Eminem, made for entertainment. The uploader lists an email for copyright and removal requests, which Futurism read as a sign they are used to labels trying to take their videos down. A web search showed the same address turns up on channels imitating other rappers, including Meek Mill and 21 Savage. The Meek Mill channel alone has more than 13,000 subscribers. Some uploads on those channels do carry YouTube's label for altered or generated content.
Asked by Futurism, the account's owner said the aim was never to pass the track off as a genuine release, and that the description makes clear it is unofficial and may use AI. They described themselves as a producer who makes their own beats and handles mixing and mastering, with AI as just one tool in that work.
Futurism set the case against a wider flood of AI songs posted under real artists' names, and noted that Universal Music, owner of Eminem's Shady Records, has itself signed deals with AI companies including Nvidia and Udio. Universal had not commented. The outlet also recalled the man who pleaded guilty this year to making $8 million from AI tracks streamed by bots on Spotify. It said this uploader is unlikely to earn anything close to that, especially since YouTube changed how it counts views. For Futurism, the bigger issue is what such tracks do to the idea of authentic human expression.
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