I called Soulja Boy’s new AI voice clone and had an uncanny chat | Tech Radar

Overview

I called Soulja Boy’s new AI voice clone and had an uncanny chat

Rap and AI collide as Soulja Boy debuts an interactive voice clone

Details

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Soulja Boy partnered with Bland AI to create a call-in voice clone that talks to fans in real time

The AI version of the rapper holds natural conversations that blend nostalgia with cutting-edge tech

The project highlights how quickly voice cloning is moving into mainstream entertainment

As a rapper, Soulja Boy has often boasted about being first to things like using an i Phone. Now, he's unveiled a phone number that connects callers to an AI-generated version of himself built in partnership with Bland AI. The system greets callers in a near-perfect recreation of his voice and jumps into conversation with the same upbeat confidence of his performances, bragging about being the first rapper to "automate his voice with AI.”

I was the first rapper to automate his voice with AI. Give me a call pic.twitter.com/JS1RP5yo Ko February 18, 2026

It's a fitting gimmick for the artist who embedded a real phone number into his song, “Kiss Me Thru The Phone.”

Bland AI gives the stunt real technical weight. The startup specializes in generating realistic conversational phone agents for businesses, and now Soulja Boy can be one of those voices automating customer service and scheduling.

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I called the number myself and heard the unmistakable cadence of Soulja Boy sounding energized and ready to talk about businesses using his voice. I was able to convince the AI to also talk about his thoughts on the tech, which, unsurprisingly, were enthusiastic. He went into a bit about innovation and creativity with AI, but continually looped back to the business options. Still, the overall feel was impressive.

fun fact: Soulja doesn't know how to drive stick pic.twitter.com/j Ci 6 Due Gw PFebruary 18, 2026

Musicians and actors are making AI versions of their voices more and more available. Some are working with companies like Eleven Labs, others, like Matthew Mc Conaughey, are trying to get ahead by trademarking their own voices and catchphrases. Soulja Boy’s project invites direct interaction, but it's broadly the same idea.

For Bland AI, the experiment is also a branding moment. The company markets its tech as a way to replace clunky call centers with fluid AI conversations. By working with a celebrity rather than a corporate client, Bland AI spotlights the entertainment value of its toolset. Fans who try the number are not thinking about enterprise automation, but about how surreal it is to chat with an AI rapper.

This shift could change expectations about celebrity accessibility. Historically, fan interaction has lived on social platforms where comments and replies blur parasocial boundaries. An AI hotline extends that boundary even further. It lets fans hear a familiar voice, talk for as long as they want, and leave the conversation believing they have experienced a slice of the artist they admire.

Whether Soulja Boy is just the first of many celebrity voices you hear when you call a business for customer service is hard to gauge, but it certainly captures the moment. And Soulja Boy may make AI his next major collaborator, judging from a video of him freestyling with an AI voice.

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Eric Hal Schwartz is a freelance writer for Tech Radar with more than 15 years of experience covering the intersection of the world and technology. For the last five years, he served as head writer for Voicebot.ai and was on the leading edge of reporting on generative AI and large language models. He's since become an expert on the products of generative AI models, such as Open AI’s Chat GPT, Anthropic’s Claude, Google Gemini, and every other synthetic media tool. His experience runs the gamut of media, including print, digital, broadcast, and live events. Now, he's continuing to tell the stories people want and need to hear about the rapidly evolving AI space and its impact on their lives. Eric is based in New York City.

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Key Takeaways

I called Soulja Boy’s new AI voice clone and had an uncanny chat
Rap and AI collide as Soulja Boy debuts an interactive voice clone
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission
Soulja Boy partnered with Bland AI to create a call-in voice clone that talks to fans in real time
The AI version of the rapper holds natural conversations that blend nostalgia with cutting-edge tech