Iconic Twin Cities rapper Eyedea finds new life with AI-generated album

Larsen died in 2010 from an accidental drug overdose at age 28, but he left behind thousands of pages of handwritten lyrics, some dating back more than three decades. (WCCO via CNN Newsource)

Minnesota (WCCO) -- Twin Cities native Michael Larsen, better known as Eyedea, made a name for himself with his freestyle battle rap skills and as one-half of the duo Eyedea & Abilities.

Larsen died in 2010 from an accidental drug overdose at age 28, but he left behind thousands of pages of handwritten lyrics, some dating back more than three decades.

“He was very smart, extremely smart,” said mother Kathy Averill. “Very well read at an early age.”

Larsen’s mother knows these physical works won’t last forever. The question was how to preserve it all?

Local MCs, even Larsen’s mother, read old lyrics, which were combined with old recordings and fed into an AI program. That’s how the recently released Eyedea album came to be.

Longtime friend Willy Lose, who put together the album, said it was like piecing together a puzzle, with Larsen’s voice in his head at all times.

“Kind of feeling like he was there with me and we were doing this together,” said Lose.

But reception has been mixed.

“I mean, I guess some people are kind of a little disappointed that it’s mechanically made. Other people are really happy and glad that they can hear more, especially people that knew him as a teenager,” said Averill. “They’re like, ‘This sounds just like him.’”

“The first thing that everybody wants to do is question the morality of the whole thing,” said Lose. “Personally? Mikey would have been all over this.”

With countless more pages of lyrics, Averill said she’s hopeful there’s more music to come.

By Jason Rantala.