Is Fenix Flexin’s Billboard hit actually AI slop?

Fenix Flexin is a name you might know from Shoreline Mafia, the LA rap duo that spent years grinding out West Coast trap. But his solo track “Rubberz” just landed at number 58 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the internet has already decided it’s AI slop. Fenix says it’s not. He’s just not doing a very good job of proving it.

The suspicion didn’t come out of nowhere. The song is a massive stylistic departure. Fenix built his career on those heavy, trap-influenced beats that dominate LA radio. “Rubberz” is something else entirely—heavily indebted to ’80s UK synth-pop, with a polished, almost sterile production that sounds like it was engineered in a lab. It’s not a natural evolution. It’s a genre jump so abrupt it feels like someone swapped the artist name on a demo.

Then there’s the cover art. Look at it. The image floating around is a portrait of Fenix that has that unmistakable AI sheen—waxy skin, odd lighting, details that don’t quite resolve. The Verge’s own piece flags the artwork as “almost certainly AI,” and honestly, they’re being generous. It looks like something you’d get from Midjourney on the third try, not something a label would pay a designer for.

Fenix has denied the AI allegations, but his response has been vague and defensive. He hasn’t shared any studio footage, no alternate takes, no behind-the-scenes clips. In 2026, when every artist has a phone full of content, that silence speaks volumes. If you’re going to claim a song is yours, you’d think you’d want to show the work.

Here’s the thing though: does it matter? I’ve been thinking about this since the song started climbing the charts. The backlash against AI music is real, and it’s not just purists being snobs. There’s a genuine fear that AI-generated tracks will flood the market, undercutting human artists and making it even harder for real talent to break through. But “Rubberz” isn’t a faceless algorithm dump. It’s a song with a credited artist, a label push, and a Billboard placement. If Fenix did use AI tools—whether for the beat, the lyrics, or the vocals—he’s not the first, and he won’t be the last.

What bugs me more is the dishonesty. Plenty of artists are using AI in the studio now, and some are upfront about it. They’ll say, “Yeah, I used this tool to generate a melody, then I wrote the lyrics over it.” That’s a legitimate workflow. But when a song smells like AI and the artist swears it’s 100% human, it just makes everyone more paranoid. And that paranoia is justified, because the cover art alone is a smoking gun.

The music industry has always been about reinvention. Artists change sounds, adopt new personas, chase trends. But there’s a difference between evolving and outsourcing. If “Rubberz” is Fenix’s genuine attempt at something new, then good for him—though he might want to invest in better artwork. If it’s AI-assisted, he should just own it. The fans will forgive you for using a tool. They won’t forgive you for lying about it.

Either way, the song is stuck in my head now, so I guess the algorithm wins.