The Maryland rapper recently partnered with Shady/Interscope Records and took time to chat with his fans about his new single.
IDK is building community, not just a following, and it is important to him to stay in touch with his fans and be open about his creative process and goals. Having chosen Discord as the place where he can connect with listeners, IDK posts updates, hosts screenings and listening parties, and answers fans’ questions.
Fans had plenty to ask after IDK dropped “WELCOME” with Eminem and announced his partnership with Shady Records and Interscope. It is new. In “No Plan B”, the short documentary that accompanied the song release, IDK talked about never being part of a team. On Discord, a fan asked how he felt working with Shady. The answer was warm and concise:
Great people + Em is amazing.
When a fan said some listeners felt misled because they’d expected a verse from Eminem, IDK gave a more detailed answer:
I’m not mad at it. Some people see it how they see it. I made something that I’m very proud of, and M is also proud of it. We have the rest of our lives to do more, and who’s to say there isn’t more? ☠️ I guess we’ll just have to know when it comes out as well.
Truth be told, IDK made zero promises when he posted that photo with Eminem. Anyone who took a feature credit as a promise of a full verse was getting ahead of themselves. Also, as many other users noted, Eminem nailed that hook.
An even more contentious question touched on AI tools in music. Many fans and online commentators often speculate about the “Shady voice” that Eminem used on The Death of Slim Shady and some recent features. Producer FredWreck disagrees. Last year, talking about TDOSS, he said: People were hitting me up like, “Is that AI?” I’m like, “No, that’s him doing it. He’s doing the old voice”. There’s no studio tricks.
Around the same time, Royce 5’9 suggested there are certain studio tricks, namely a retrieval-based voice-conversion filter that Marshall used on some tracks from TDOSS. Asked about an AI filter on “WELCOME”, IDK pushed back on the claim that Eminem uses AI vocals.
This is the funniest thing ever. He does not use AI vocals. I don’t know where this is coming from, and I see everyone saying it. Lol
There is still a lot of confusion among the audience about AI, and sometimes people are quick to call any noticeable change in vocal texture AI. But at least in IDK’s case, he can confidently say that nothing of the sort happened on “WELCOME”.