When “Let Me Be” began circulating widely on TikTok and YouTube earlier this year, few listeners questioned the identity behind its smooth vocals and polished amapiano sound. But behind the viral hit is a story that reflects both persistence and the growing influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in music. The song, which has garnered more than 13 million combined views on YouTube and charted across Europe and Africa, including peaking at No. 12 in France and entering the top 10 in Kenya and Tanzania — is the work of 21-year-old Rwandan artiste Elvin Cena. ALSO READ: Eight ways AI can transform music creation Cena, who is currently pursuing his studies in France, had originally recorded the track months earlier using his own lyrics and melody. Dissatisfied with its production quality, he shelved the project, uncertain of its potential. Rather than abandon it completely, he turned to Suno AI, a music-generation platform that enables users to transform or build songs using prompts and audio inputs. There, he experimented with reshaping the track into an amapiano style and introducing a digitally generated female voice in the second verse. The process involved repeated adjustments, which he likened to refining a document through iterative edits, until he reached a version that met his expectations. Still, Cena was hesitant to release the song under his personal brand due to its AI-driven elements. Instead, he uploaded it on February 8, to a separate YouTube channel under the name “The Second Voice.” “I’m an artist too and I don’t want to be associated with AI 100 percent,” he said in an interview with magazine outlet, OkayAfrica. “It’s not a human. It’s just a name I gave to it.” Within days, the track began gaining traction on social media platforms, quickly reaching one million views and being featured in tens of thousands of TikTok videos. As its popularity surged, Cena moved to connect the success back to his identity by releasing an official video credited as “The Second Voice featuring Elvin Cena.” “After it hit one million, I saw the song was climbing a lot of charts,” he said. “I added my name to also promote my work and my name, because it’s my project too.” Prior to this moment, Cena’s career had been steadily developing, with releases such as “Ka Sa Lo” (2022) and “Jejeli” (2023) earning him a modest following of about 14,000 YouTube subscribers and over 10,000 monthly listeners on Spotify. However, none had approached the scale of “Let Me Be.” The track’s success has also sparked discussion about transparency in AI-generated music. Many listeners remain unaware that the female vocals are not performed by a human artiste, often praising the voice without knowing its origin. Despite this, Cena does not view the situation as problematic. “No, not really,” he said when asked if he felt any guilt. “They have to understand. It’s just the beginning of the future.” He believes that public hesitation toward AI in music mirrors early skepticism toward the internet, suggesting that acceptance will grow over time. “In one year, I can see that it will be normal to listen to AI music,” he noted. Even as he embraces the technology, Cena stresses that it should complement, rather than replace, human creativity. He maintains that the essence of “Let Me Be” — its lyrics and melody — remains his original work. “Use it to give you some ideas, not to use it 100 percent,” he said. Suno AI, which was launched publicly in late 2023, is now generating millions of songs each day and is reportedly engaged in ongoing discussions with major record labels over licensing terms. For Cena, however, the broader industry debate is secondary to the personal milestone. “It’s crazy,” he said. “I made ‘Let Me Be’ in like one hour, maybe 30 minutes, and it’s going viral. Since 2020, I’ve been working, but I never made a song like this.”
