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Pitchfork Gives Tyga’s $TARFACE a Rare 0.0 Album Score

Published Wednesday, the zero-score heightens debate over generative AI in pop music by exposing gaps in disclosure, charting and forensic detection.

Overview

  • Pitchfork published a 0.0 review of $TARFACE on Wednesday, marking the outlet’s first zero in roughly 19 years and drawing widespread attention to the album.
  • Tyga has confirmed that generative AI helped create some instrumentals on the record while saying his vocals and lyrics remain fully his and likening the tech’s role to Auto-Tune.
  • Reviewer Drew Millard called the album “smug and complacent” and said he was able to reproduce a track in the album’s style using AI, arguing that the record lacked human texture.
  • Coverage of the review has focused less on the score itself and more on unresolved industry questions about how artists must disclose AI use, how charts should count AI-assisted tracks, and how reliable current forensic tools are.
  • Early commercial signals report weak first-week sales and low chart placement for $TARFACE, a result observers say could reflect listener pushback as debates over AI’s role in music continue.