AI Drake creator is back — and chasing a Grammy

A few months after sending major record labels into panic with an AI-generated Drake track, the anonymous creator known as Ghostwriter is back. This time, the ambition is even wilder: new cloned vocals, a public royalty offer, and an actual bid for a Grammy.

Ghostwriter released a new track titled "Whiplash" on TikTok and X, featuring AI-generated vocals of rappers Travis Scott and 21 Savage. But instead of just dropping the music, Ghostwriter left a public proposition at the very end of the video.

A public DM and a Grammy submission

The message told both artists that the future of music is here, arguing that artists now have the ability to let their voices work for them without lifting a finger. Ghostwriter added that if Scott and 21 Savage agree to an official commercial release, all royalties will be directed straight to them. Alternatively, they could just send an Instagram DM to have the post pulled down. Shortly after, TikTok took the video down for reasons that remain unconfirmed.

Meanwhile, Ghostwriter is taking the previous hit, "Heart on My Sleeve," to the highest levels of the industry. The New York Times reported that the AI Drake track has been submitted for Grammy consideration in two marquee categories: Best Rap Song and Song of the Year.

Surprisingly, it actually cleared the first creative hurdle. Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, told the NYT that from a creative standpoint, the track is absolutely eligible because it was written by a human. However, there is a catch: Grammy rules require a track to meet general distribution standards across streaming platforms or retail stores. Because the original track was quickly yanked from Spotify and Apple Music amid label pressure, fulfilling that commercial requirement could be an uphill battle.

Why it matters

Ghostwriter is stress-testing the music industry's defenses in real time. Offering 100% of the royalties directly to the cloned artists flips the traditional piracy narrative on its head, turning an infringement fight into an open business proposal.

The Recording Academy's openness to human-written, AI-voiced music sets an intriguing precedent. It effectively treats voice cloning as an instrument or production effect rather than an outright disqualifier. But until the legal fog around voice likeness clears, artists and platforms remain caught in an awkward limbo, where groundbreaking creativity has no legal shelf to sit on.