AI vs. The Hustle—King Willonius
How one song that captured a moment and made hip-hop history was years in the making
“BBL Drizzy” started off as an insult—but it ended up making music history instead.
A year ago, when Kendrick Lamar and Drake spurred one of the most high-profile rap beefs of our time, comedian and screenwriter Willonius Hatcher saw an opportunity. He wrote some lyrics, fired up an AI music tool, and created a soul-infused anthem that caught fire. As a result, “BBL Drizzy” went viral, hip-hop producer Metro Boomin amplified it even further, and in a wild twist, Drake’s own team licensed the track, making it the first AI-generated work to be officially sampled by a major artist.
But this wasn’t just a lucky meme moment. King Willonius had been working toward this for years—experimenting, failing, writing three songs a day, directing wildly popular audio dramas on the pandemic-era app Clubhouse, and sharpening his storytelling voice. Last year he was named TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in AI. In his own words: “You can’t cheat the process, but with AI you can amplify it.”
In this episode, we talk about:
The creation of “BBL Drizzy” and how it caught fire
How tools like Udio are reshaping music production
The decades-long tension between sampling, authorship, and copyright
Why he sees AI as creative reparations for under-resourced artists
What it really means to be an “AI artist”—and why it’s never as simple as pushing a button
The grind behind the scenes: writing, experimenting, and staying ready for the moment
Whether you’re into hip-hop, creativity, tech, or just want to understand how a joke track ended up changing the music industry—this one’s for you.
For more on King Willonius, comedian, screenwriter, musician, and creator of “BBL Drizzy”:
100 Most Influential People in AI [TIME Magazine]
The filmmaker who says AI is reparations [Wired Magazine]
Drake drama showed how AI prophecy can become reality [THE GRAIN]
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