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Received — 27 October 2026 ⏭ NPR - Top Stories

From ghostwriters to false identities: Our favorite fake music scandals of the 21st century

27 October 2026 at 09:00
Lana del Rey (left), the virtual musician and influencer Lil Miquela and the rapper Rick Ross have all been the subject of controversies over what makes a musical artist authentic.

Controversy over an artist being fake — or someone thinking they are — is hardly new. Here are some of the craziest moments in recent music history when the boundary between real and fake collapsed.

(Image credit: Photos by Michael Kovac/WireImage and Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images for BET. Illustration by Jackie Lay.)

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