Decoding BOI WHAT: Is the Viral “SpongeBob Metalcore” Project Actually AI?
If you have spent any time scrolling through music TikTok, Reddit, or rock charts recently, you might have stumbled across something completely unhinged yet strangely catchy: heavy, breakdown-heavy metalcore tracks voiced by none other than Plankton or SpongeBob SquarePants.
At the center of this bizarre internet phenomenon is BOI WHAT. Naturally, it triggers a burning question for anyone listening: Is BOI WHAT entirely AI-generated?
The short answer is no. But the relationship between this viral project and artificial intelligence is more nuanced than a simple yes or no.
The Human Engine: Who is BOI WHAT?
Behind the cartoonish vocals and heavy guitar riffs is a real human musician and producer: Eli Strobeck, based in Los Angeles. Strobeck launched the project as a playful exploration of vocal manipulation combined with heavy music.
Unlike fully generative AI music tools—where a user types a text prompt and an algorithm builds an entire song from scratch—every single track released under BOI WHAT starts with traditional, hands-on musicianship:
- Writing and Composition: Strobeck writes the lyrics, structures the songs, and composes the fierce metalcore instrumentation.
- Recording: The guitar riffs, drum programming, basslines, and raw vocal tracks are meticulously recorded, mixed, and produced by human hands.
Where Does AI Come In? (The Voice Filter)
If the instruments and raw vocals are entirely human, why do people associate BOI WHAT with AI?
The answer lies in the vocals. Strobeck uses AI voice-conversion technology as a creative filter over his own recorded singing and screaming. Instead of prompting an AI to write a song, he performs the vocals himself, and then runs them through a voice model designed to mimic iconic SpongeBob SquarePants characters—most famously Plankton.
The T-Pain Analogy: Think of BOI WHAT’s use of AI like T-Pain’s use of Auto-Tune. T-Pain is an exceptionally talented vocalist who uses a digital pitch-correction tool as an intentional stylistic choice, not as a replacement for his own ability. Similarly, Strobeck uses AI voice filters as an artistic paintbrush to achieve a surreal, comedic, yet genuinely heavy aesthetic.
Anatomy of a BOI WHAT Track
To better understand how human creativity and artificial intelligence intersect in this project, here is a quick breakdown of the creative process:
| Element | Source | Description |
| :— | :— | :— |
| Instrumentation | 100% Human | Guitars, drums, and heavy basslines are written, played, and produced by Eli Strobeck. |
| Songwriting & Lyrics | 100% Human | Original lyrics, song structures, and emotional beats crafted by the artist. |
| Raw Performance | 100% Human | Strobeck records the initial vocal takes, screams, and melodies himself. |
| Vocal Timbre | AI-Assisted | An AI voice filter is applied to the raw vocal track to alter the timbre into a cartoon character’s voice. |
The Rise of “Spongecore”
Tracks like “Plan Z” blew up across streaming platforms, even landing on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart and racking up hundreds of thousands of streams. It sits alongside other internet-born subgenres—like Glorb (the anonymous SpongeBob gangster rap project)—proving that internet meme culture can merge seamlessly with high-production alternative music.
Ultimately, BOI WHAT isn’t a faceless algorithm sitting in a server room writing heavy metal. It is a testament to how modern musicians can use emerging AI tools not to replace human artistry, but to amplify it into something wildly entertaining, heavy, and entirely unique.
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