We are living in strange times. The age of self-driving cars, reality-show presidents and…human clones walking among us?

Though it sounds like a millennial trope, the actual prospect of cloning people dates back to the 1960s. Scottish scientists successfully cloned the first mammal, a sheep named Dolly, three decades later in 1996. And though laws against it were later instituted by some nations, others have continued press on with the promise of possibly recreating a whole damn person one day, to no avail.

That’s what the mainstream media tells us. If you let the people rocking tin-foil fitteds speak their truth, you’ll find out that there is some Illuminati-Orwellian-Us ish going on and some rappers are involved.

In hip-hop, the term “clone” has been thrown around metaphorically for years, with rappers using the word as a blanket diss for a biting MC. The Neptunes added another layer with their 2003 album, The Neptunes Presents…Clones, but that was still somewhat of a futuristic nod. Actual talk of rappers being replaced by genetically identical replicas, or at least permanent stand-ins, is a newer rabbit hole.

When Gucci Mane came home from prison in 2016 looking like body goals instead of his pudgier former self, the clone claims ran rampant on the Internet. The rapper even ran with it for a minute.

More rapper clone rumors have followed, with some rappers even admitting that they themselves are test tube twins created by some clandestine company. Most recently, Kodak Black fans voiced their opinion that the rapper may have gotten cloned while incarcerated, after a jail photo surfaced that showed the rapper looking unfamiliar to many Twitter conspiracy theorists and civilians.

“Like I was never thinking the whole clone thing was a serious thing when they talked about Gucci... but ain’t no way that’s Kodak yo,” one person commented.

Before the Men in Black come shut us down, XXL puts together a brief history of hip-hop’s obsession with clones.

  • Eminem

    September 2013
    EminemMusic via YouTube
    EminemMusic via YouTube
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    There have been multiple crackpot theories about Eminem being replaced by a clone at some point in his career, with tales of Illuminati intercedence, deadly car crashes and lethal overdoses that have culminated with the Em model we have now. Clone truthers have pointed out the rapper’s drastic change in appearance over the years. Some even point to a halftime-show interview he did in 2013 as proof his clone was tweaking. Won’t the real Slim Shady please stand up?

  • Gucci Mane

    May 2016
    OfficialGucciMane via YouTube
    OfficialGucciMane via YouTube
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    Gucci Mane spent three years in prison from 2013 to 2016 and totally transformed his body while behind the walls. When he touched down, people were taken aback by the new Gu and logically determined he must be a clone.

    Gucci 2.0 played into the speculation for a while and even dropped a video for “First Day Out the Feds,” featuring multiple Guwops.

    He later conceded in an interview, “It’s funny to me. I guess people not used to me being healthy and taking care of myself and being happy. I can understand why they shocked. It’s funny. I embrace it. It just lets me know; a clone is like perfection. So, if I look like a machine or a robot evidently, I’m doing something well."

  • Kid Buu

    September 2018
    KidBuu via Instagram
    KidBuu via Instagram
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    Kid Buu has a very interesting story that sounds straight out of the X Files. The 30-year-old rapper claims he had a UFO encounter that led to him joining the Raelian movement, a sect that believes that life on Earth originates from alien lifeforms. He also alleges to be a second-generation clone created by Canadian company Clonaid, even sharing video of his double at one point.

    Buu has kept the charade going continued his truth quest, showing off what he says is more proof by way of microchips, specially made clone entrees and visits to the cloning facility.

  • Trippie Redd

    September 2018
    Ser Baffo, Getty Images
    Ser Baffo, Getty Images
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    Kid Buu’s revelation put Trippie Redd in a position to let the cat out of the bag. In September 2018, he also told fans he is a clone, more specifically, a generation 3 model.

  • Suigeneris

    October 2018
    xosuigeneris via Instgram
    xosuigeneris via Instgram
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    Teenage Cali rapper Suigeneris also pulled a Kid Buu. In a video posted to social media, he too showed off his supposed body double to the world.

  • 21 Savage

    February 2019
    Neilson Barnard, Getty Images
    Neilson Barnard, Getty Images
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    After 21 Savage was released from ICE custody following his arrest for allegedly being an illegal immigrant in February 2019, theories about the rapper being cloned while on the inside hit the Internet. Go-hard speculators pointed out minor details that differed and one picture in particular that shows the rapper wearing an outfit that had people calling the newly-released rhymer a copy of his former self.

  • Kodak Black

    July 2019
    Matt Winkelmeyer, Getty Images
    Matt Winkelmeyer, Getty Images
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    The Project Baby was at the center of clone chatter when a photo jail of the rapper surfaced on his Instagram page. Fans began point out little differences between the new pic and older photos of the South Florida rapper. So, naturally, a genetically identical copy or stand-in was the ultimate conclusion determined by enough people to make it a hot topic.

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