DJ Shimza Speaks Out After Alleged AI Clone of His Unreleased Song

South African DJ and producer Shimza has sparked a heated debate online after sharing his concerns about artificial intelligence in the music industry. The award-winning DJ took to X, formerly known as Twitter, where he accused a record label of supporting what he called a “fake artist.”

According to Shimza, the alleged artist used AI technology to recreate one of his unreleased songs using short clips taken from videos he had posted online. He believes the song was then quickly released before he and his team could officially drop the original version.

AI music is going to be such a problem, 🤣🤣🤣 Grootmaan signed a fake artist that used AI to recreate my song from clips they got off my posts and rushed to put it out before us, the artist has no other songs, this is the only song on their profile, the artist does not even… pic.twitter.com/gD5D0FsTWV

— SHIMZA (@Shimza01) February 23, 2026

He wrote, “Al music is going to be such a problem, Grootmaan signed a fake artist that used Al to recreate my song from clips they got off my posts and rushed to put it out before us, the artist has no other songs, this is the only song on their profile, the artist does not even exist on instagram or any socials. I don’t know how we going to protect the music from such, interesting times ahead for sure!”

His post immediately got people talking. Many social media users shared their opinions about the growing impact of AI on the music industry.

User @ulises_johnson commented, “this is exactly why the whole “tease for months” strategy is dying. someone can literally Al-clone your unreleased track before you drop it. the only t is speed – make it, release it, own the narrative. the music industry hasn’t caught up to how fast Al moves and by the time they do the damage is done.”

Another user, @VisionflowM, added, “This is the dark side of Al that the industry isn’t ready for 00 A fake artist with no social presence, no history, no identity just an Al cloned song rushed out before the original. Grootmaan signing it makes it worse because it gives the fake legitimacy. SA artists need to start watermarking their music, registering with SAMRO early and documenting creation dates for everything. Al music theft is the new piracy except harder to prove and faster to execute.”

Music duo Major League DJz also joined the conversation. @MAJORLEAGUEDJZ commented, “Teasing music is going to be a big problem now.”

Meanwhile, @CassiusMJ094 shared, “The best thing to do is to create music and release it. This whole thing of creating music and playing it at gigs without releasing it and making your customers to beg for it, it should come to an end guys. Deep House producers are going to suffer because of this, they like to create bangers and sit on them.”

Shimza’s comments have opened up a bigger discussion about how artists can protect their work in a time where AI technology is advancing quickly. Many believe the industry will need new rules and better protection systems to deal with these challenges.