Pitchfork has handed Tyga’s latest album, $TARFACE, a rare 0.0 score, the first zero the publication has given in 19 years. The review, published August 11, 2026, didn’t hold back: “This rapper’s slop-pop concept album is smug and complacent. Its very existence makes the world a worse place”.
The brutal review stems largely from Tyga’s use of artificial intelligence in creating the album. Initially, the rapper claimed the project was made using vintage hardware and human craftsmanship. But just a week after telling People magazine the album was handmade, Tyga confirmed to VIBE that AI was, in fact, involved.
Pitchfork’s review points to specific evidence, particularly the track “POWDERED DREAMS,” which the outlet claims resembles Fenix Flexin’s “Rubberz” in its production, vocal delivery, and lyrics. The review argues the track’s chorus “shows no sign of human breathing”.
$TARFACE was meant to be Tyga’s ambitious concept album introducing an alter ego, imagining “What if Scarface, as played by Al Pacino, was a pop star?”. The rapper described it as a love story exploring vulnerability, with a Miami Vice-inspired aesthetic and 80s synth-pop production . But Pitchfork’s reviewer argued the album “confuses loving music with prompting a machine”.
