On Thursday, April 10, comedian, artificial intelligence storyteller and producer Will “King Willonius” Hatcher flew in to present “Unleashing Your Creative Genius with AI” at Tulane University in the Lavin-Bernick Center for University Life. Hatcher, creator of the viral song “BBL Drizzy,” led an engaging hands-on session showcasing the various AI tools he’s used to amplify his career and demonstrating how to utilize them to inspire creativity and expand your imagination.
Julia Lang, professor of practice and the associate director of career education and life design at the Phyllis M. Taylor Center for Social Innovation and Design, teaches DATA 2150: Artificial Intelligence Tools. She was selected by Newcomb-Tulane College for the annual William L. Duren Jr. Professorship Program. The program provides endowed professors with resources to support their undergraduate courses for enrichment learning such as workshops, guest speakers and field trips. “Part of the class is that they got to research and vote on the person they were most excited and interested in that they wanted to learn from within the world of AI,” Lang said. Davis Green, a student enrolled in the course and a member on the Data Ambassador Council at the Connolly Alexander Institute of Data Science, suggested inviting Hatcher as a guest lecturer to speak for their class. Lang used the Duren Professorship resources to host Hatcher and received additional funding provided by CAIDS to co-sponsor this event.
Lang discussed how her course has been “exploring a lot about AI and all the different ethical implications” of it, but also how art can be created in collaboration with AI. “King Willonius has really taken AI as a way to supercharge his creativity,” Lang said.
“One of the things I’m going to be advocating for is making sure people get up to speed with AI. Know how to use it and know the possibilities of what [it] could possibly do for you.” Hatcher said. His creative journey involves using AI tools such as Runway, Midjourney, Udio, Suno and ChatGPT to enrich his career and produce work that interconnects artistry, comedy, pop culture and technology innovation.
Hatcher described his introduction to AI in 2023 when he was pursuing stand-up comedy, which he continues to do today, and writing. Breaking into the entertainment industry seemed promising —Hatcher had several scripts being reviewed by company executives at HBO. However, when the 2023 Hollywood writers’ strike began, these were discarded along with other writing opportunities. Hatcher viewed these setbacks as an opportunity to launch an exploration into AI, combining his passion for technology with a powerful creative outlet. At first, he experimented with Runway, a text-to-video AI platform that generates videos and can edit content as instructed, using it to produce trailers that were prompted based on the scripts he developed. Hatcher then shifted to musical experimentation with AI tools such as Udio and Suno, which allow users to customize a song by describing the genre and providing lyrics for the AI to compose into a track. Now, Hatcher’s focus is music production and music videos, which incorporate the video-making skills he learned from assembling trailers.
Hatcher’s creative process is attributed to maintaining a strong sense of discipline: the capacity to constantly learn and consistently create on a daily basis. A year ago, Hatcher set a goal for himself to create and release an album every month, each of which leaned into celebrity and pop culture. Hatcher has released three albums this yearmonth.
“Right now is a great time to dive into AI because tools are advancing really fast … it’s really important now to learn how to use these tools and know how to find the tools.” Hatcher said. Hatcher speaks on how taking the time to learn AI has been life-changing and has opened the door for a lot of opportunities. “Take action, that’s the biggest thing in life. I can’t stress that enough.”
Last year, Hatcher was named one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in AI” and last month, April 14, 2024, marked the one-year anniversary of “BBL Drizzy.” On May 6, 2024, Metro Boomin created a beat that sampled the song and it gained lots of traction as Metro Boomin encouraged listeners to create their own diss track in response to the ongoing dispute between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. As a result, “BBL Drizzy” became the first notable AI sample song in music history. The hit success greatly contributed to Hatcher’s rise into public consciousness and opportunities in the entertainment industry. Since then, Hatcher has worked with Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Will Smith and produced his comedy album, “UNSerious,” alongside Grammy Award-winner Om’Mas Keith.
After discussing his background, impressive portfolio and the AI tools he found most effective, he pivoted to a hands-on demonstration, inviting students to collaborate and engage directly with Udio and Runway to generate a music video. Hatcher asked students to describe the type of song they wanted to create and to come up with lyrics, pitching to him anything that came to mind. It was extraordinary watching Hatcher work his craft, effortlessly prompting the AI, using the ideas students came up with on the spot. In less than 10 minutes, Hatcher and students had created an ‘80s pop song about undercooked chicken with matching visuals.
The event was a major success, motivating artists and innovators alike. Hatcher demonstrated that AI, when used responsibly, can be a powerful tool for expanding creative potential. Its accessibility enables anyone to bring their ideas to life, to create imaginative art without restrictions. Hatcher encourages others to understand AI and leverage it as a skill to support their creativity and create career opportunities for themselves.
“Done is better than perfect,” Hatcher concludes, inspiring others to take action: Keep learning, keep trying and keep creating.