As fans continue to take in Young Thug’s just-released Business Is Business project, unsubstantiated clips claiming to feature Thug discussing Gunna have become the subject of AI speculation on social media.
First up, an unverified clip tagged by Ceddy Nash is purported to be an excerpt of a call from Thug to Lil Baby. The clip begins with an unidentified voice saying “Alright, I’m ready” before a voice purported to be Thug’s is heard addressing “Wham,” which is a nickname for Baby.
“I want you to respond on my album,” the voice says. "I’m planning this, um, I’mma drop this spontaneous album on the same day he drops his album. I’mma name that shit Business Is Business.”
In another clip, this one tagged by Akademiks, a voice also purported to be Thug’s is heard addressing Lil Durk.
"I'm dropping this surprise album on the same day that buddy drops his album," the voice is heard saying in the clip. "That shit coming up soon. I need a verse from you. If you feel like replying, if you feel like you wanna reply to what that n**** saying or something, don’t do it. Drop it on my album. I’m dropping a surprise album on the same day that fuck n**** dropping."
In the clip, the purported voice is also heard saying they want Baby and Durk “on the same song.”
Business Is Business features Drake, Future, 21 Savage, Travis Scott, Lil Uzi Vert, Nate Ruess, and more; neither Lil Baby nor Lil Durk, however, appear on the 15-track project.
As the aforementioned clips have started making the rounds, many have questioned their legitimacy. More specifically, it's been widely speculated that the audio could be fake. Some have also pointed to it possibly being the product of generative AI. In fact, an Instagram comment alleged to have been left by Thug’s sister on one of the many posts about this audio references this explanation. At the time of this writing, however, Complex was unable to verify the veracity of the screenshots showing the comment in question.
Complex has reached out to reps for Lil Baby and Lil Durk for comment. This story may be updated.
Broadly speaking, the potential for generative AI to be used for possibly nefarious purposes has been a widely noted concern amid the tech’s more recent proliferation. If the tech continues to improve, it'll likely be harder and harder to differentiate between the real and the fake.
Given the current state of everything, it’s no wonder even those directly involved with the tech’s development have been publicly weary of its growth being allowed to continue without some necessary guardrails being put in place.
