“Did yall detect and remove those fake streams” - DJ Akademiks questions Spotify about Young Thug audio claiming he bought Gunna’s #1 spot

On August 31, 2025, HotNewHipHop reported on a newly surfaced jailhouse audio of Young Thug making certain claims about Gunna’s career. In the five-minute recording, the Atlanta rapper alleged that he spent $50,000 on fake streams to push Gunna’s 2022 album DS4EVER to the top position on the Billboard charts, surpassing The Weeknd’s 2022 album Dawn FM.

The claim quickly drew attention across social media. Neither Gunna nor The Weeknd commented publicly on this matter at the time of publishing this article.

DJ Akademiks, however, weighed in on X. Quoting the report on September 1, 2025, he posted:

"Spotify need to come clean. If the artist admitting they spent $50k on bots to finesse a #1 … did yall detect and remove those fake streams or u let em rock… cuz if u didn’t remove them that’s a problem. We need answers"

More about Young Thug's claim

The alleged audio leak is part of a wider set of recordings attributed to Young Thug’s ongoing incarceration. As reported by HotNewHipHop on August 31, 2025, Thug was heard talking about his relationship with Gunna and the business pressures surrounding him.

Thug claimed that Gunna, seeking a new deal worth $20 million, pushed beyond what labels were willing to pay. In response, Thug said he tried to support him financially as a “brother.” He reportedly said:

"You not doing numbers like that. The number one album you just had right now, I paid for you to have the number one album. You didn’t honestly earn a number one album over The Weeknd, my boy. I paid for that s**t."

Young Thug also added:

"I spent 50 extra grand buy a m***********g stream… 50,000 buying strings for you… for you to be me."

Thug accused Gunna of exploiting younger rappers by charging access fees, allegedly demanding $2,500 from aspiring artists as young as 16. According to the same media outlet, Young Thug's allegations were about how Gunna’s ambition was "both his greatest asset and his ultimate betrayal."

Gunna, Young Thug, and Ryan Wilson at the 2021 REVOLT Summit on November 13, 2021. (Image via Getty)

Young Thug allegedly confirms bot allegations

On September 1, 2025, Young Thug reportedly admitted using bots to boost streams for his 2023 album BUSINESS IS BUSINESS, per HotNewHipHop. The claims surfaced from a leaked jail call, where the rapper was heard discussing chart performance with a presumed team member.

During the call, Young Thug allegedly asked whether his associate still had access to a bot “plug,” referencing his claims about Gunna’s 2022 album DS4EVER.

Released on June 22, 2023, BUSINESS IS BUSINESS sold 88,000 units in its debut week but fell short of the top spot. Morgan Wallen’s One Thing At A Time led with 108,000 units, marking his 15th nonconsecutive week at number one. The same leaked call also included frustration from Young Thug, who questioned why Wallen was not featured on his album.

At the time, hip-hop apparently struggled commercially, with no rap album reaching No. 1 until Lil Uzi Vert’s Pink Tape in July 2023. Thug’s collaborator Uzi posed direct competition during that chart cycle, seemingly adding to his frustration.

More about the leaked recordings

Gunna, Young Thug and 21 Savage celebrated Young Thug's album "Punk". (Image via Getty)

The recording is one of several alleged Young Thug jail conversations circulating online. On August 30, 2025, HotNewHipHop reported that another leaked call featured Thug reacting to a Lil Baby diss track while speaking with 21 Savage. The diss referenced a 2023 track bread & butter from Gunna's fourth studio album, a Gift & a Curse.

The same day, Thug tweeted and deleted a cryptic message directed at Lil Baby.

"Wham what’s understood ain’t got to ever be explained I’m with cha forever,” the now-deleted X post read.

Thug also accused Quality Control of cutting a deal without Lil Baby present. Pierre “P” Thomas, CEO of Quality Control, publicly denied the allegation.

Many of these claims and allegations remain unverified at the time of press.

About the author

Devangee Halder is a Food and Pop culture writer at Sportskeeda. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and a Master's Degree in International Studies. A bibliophile and foodie, her academic background, with the intersection of history and cultural studies, has deepened her love for reading and writing.

With over a year of experience, including an internship at Indian Express, which she landed through correspondence with editor Raj Kumar Jha, she transitioned into her current role at this company. As a journalist covering gastronomic trends and other news from the F&B Industry, she veers away from prescriptivism, and instead prioritizes questioning of current narratives, and forwarding relevant news, ensuring they are devoid of sensationalism.

Devangee approaches food with an interdisciplinary lens, locating it vis-à-vis areas such as culture, history, memory, and economics, within which culinary traditions found fruition and subsequently flourished. When not working, she enjoys cooking and reading, alongside her newfound interest in weightlifting. Among her favorite personalities are Sarah Todd and Vikas Khanna, and she admires the late chef Jock Zonfrillo for his work on indigenous food habits and ingredients.

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Edited by DEEPALI