Is The Naughty Jukebox AI?

I'm Genaro Castillo, the person behind The Naughty Jukebox. I've always been transparent about the fact that I use Suno as one of the tools in my creative process. I don't pretend otherwise, and I believe transparency about AI use is important.

At the same time, I think there is an important distinction between automatically generating large quantities of music and uploading whatever comes out, versus using generative technology as part of a larger human-directed creative and production workflow.

My process starts with me. I develop the song ideas, concepts, subject matter, direction and lyrics. I decide what I want the song to communicate and how I want it to feel. I use Suno as a tool to help turn that direction into musical material, and I may work through different versions until I have something that fits what I'm trying to create.

From there, my involvement continues. I bring the material into FL Studio and work on the song through arrangement, editing, mixing and mastering. I make decisions about the structure, levels, dynamics, EQ, compression, stereo image and overall sound of the finished release. If something doesn't sound right, I work on it rather than simply accepting the original output.

I also want to be clear that I don't claim to be a professional producer, mixing engineer or mastering engineer. I'm teaching myself. I watch tutorials, study what producers and engineers do, learn my tools, experiment, make mistakes and improve as I go. That learning process has actually become an important part of The Naughty Jukebox for me.

I've deliberately tried to separate what I do from the fully automated approach to AI music where large quantities of generated tracks are simply created and uploaded with little additional involvement. I care about each individual release and put my own time, judgment and creative decisions into getting it where I want it before releasing it.

I understand why SlopTracker classifies projects where generative AI plays a fundamental role, and I respect Nick's decision to keep The Naughty Jukebox listed under that definition. My purpose in responding isn't to hide or minimize my use of AI. It's simply to give listeners the full context: there is a real person behind this project who writes, directs, edits, arranges, mixes, masters and continually learns how to make the finished music better.

AI is part of my workflow, but the workflow itself is not automated. The Naughty Jukebox is a human-directed creative project, and I'm proud to be transparent about both the technology I use and the work I personally put into it.