If your feed has been full of two people rapping in an orange room under one hanging mic, you have seen the Hotel Lobby AI trend. The clips are new. The song and the performance behind them are from 2022.
This post covers where "Hotel Lobby" comes from, who made it, what happened to the duo, and why the performance came back in 2026. At the end, there is a short section on making your own version in a way that respects the original.
The short version
- "Hotel Lobby (Unc & Phew)" is a 2022 single by Quavo and Takeoff, recording as the duo Unc & Phew.
- It came out on May 20, 2022, as the first single from their album Only Built for Infinity Links.
- In June 2022 they performed it on A COLORS SHOW, in front of an orange wall with one shared microphone.
- Takeoff died on November 1, 2022, in Houston. He was 28.
- In September 2026, AI edits of the COLORS performance went viral, and Quavo shared the original again.
Who are Unc & Phew?
Quavo and Takeoff were two of the three members of Migos, the rap group from Georgia, alongside Offset. They are also family: Quavo is Takeoff's uncle.
In 2022 the two of them started releasing music as a duo called Unc & Phew. The name is simply short for "uncle" and "nephew." According to Wikipedia's entry on the duo, it formed that year amid reports that Migos was breaking up.
The song
"Hotel Lobby (Unc & Phew)" was released on May 20, 2022, through Quality Control Music and Motown. It was the duo's debut single. The track was produced by Murda Beatz, Keanu Beats and Fabio Aguilar.
Musically it is a trap song built around the rapid triplet flow that Migos made famous, with Quavo and Takeoff trading lines about success and money. We are not reproducing the lyrics here. The official audio and video are easy to find on the artists' channels.
The official music video, directed by Keemotion and Quavo, is a nod to the 1998 film Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, with desert and Las Vegas hotel scenes.
The single reached No. 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 12 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and it was later certified Platinum by the RIAA.
The album: Only Built for Infinity Links
"Hotel Lobby" was the lead single from Only Built for Infinity Links, the collaborative album by Unc & Phew. It came out on October 7, 2022, through Quality Control Music and Motown. Wikipedia notes that the album received generally favorable reviews.
Less than a month after the album came out, Takeoff was killed.
The A COLORS SHOW performance
COLORS (COLORSxSTUDIOS) is a music platform founded in Berlin, known for its minimal performance videos: one artist, one plain colored backdrop, one microphone. The format is simple on purpose, so the performance carries the whole video.
On June 17, 2022, COLORS released Quavo and Takeoff's "Hotel Lobby" performance. It was part of a series that Motown and COLORSxSTUDIOS put together for Black Music Month. In the video, the two stand against an orange wall and share a single microphone that hangs from the ceiling between them.
That setup is what made it so recognizable later. Two people, one mic, a flat orange background, and an easy back-and-forth between uncle and nephew. The video has passed 100 million views on YouTube.
Takeoff
Takeoff was shot and killed outside a bowling alley in Houston in the early hours of November 1, 2022. He was 28. According to police, he was not involved in the argument that led to the shooting. A man was later charged with his murder.
For many fans, the COLORS performance is one of the last widely seen moments of Quavo and Takeoff together as a duo. That is part of why it means so much to people, and part of why the AI trend has mixed reactions.
How "Hotel Lobby" became an AI trend in 2026
The trend took off in September 2026. XXL traced it to an early clip of two cats mimicking the COLORS performance. After that, people used AI video tools to swap the two rappers for celebrities, TV characters, athletes, animals and their own friends, while keeping the orange booth and the hanging mic.
A few things made it spread:
- The format is instantly readable. An orange wall and one mic between two people. You know what it is in a second.
- It is built for two. Pairs are easy to cast: best friends, couples, siblings, a boss and an intern.
- AI made it cheap to join. Templates and apps let people try it with a couple of photos instead of a camera and a choreographer.
On September 23, 2026, Quavo reposted the original COLORS performance on X, pointing people back to "the original." Coverage at the time also noted that some fans were uncomfortable seeing Takeoff's likeness recreated with AI.
Make your own version, respectfully
If you want to join in, here is the approach we recommend: put your own faces in the booth, not the original artists'.
RapVideo AI lets you do that from one or two photos, in a browser, in about 2 to 3 minutes. There are two styles:
- Original remake uses the real "Hotel Lobby" recording and its 14-second choreography, with your faces on the two rappers. Because it is the original song, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube may mute, limit or remove it, and you are responsible for how you share it.
- New song writes original lyrics about your topic (up to 120 characters) and generates the picture, two AI voices and the beat together. It is original music, so it won't match the copyrighted track. There is no voice cloning, so it will not sound like Quavo or Takeoff.
A standard video costs 10 credits. See the Hotel Lobby AI page, the Migos AI page and pricing for details.
A few ground rules:
- Only use photos of people who agreed.
- Don't present an AI clip as a real performance.
- If you want to hear the real thing, watch the original COLORS video.
RapVideo AI is independent and not affiliated with Migos, Quavo, Takeoff, Offset, COLORS or the song's rights holders.
FAQ
Who sings "Hotel Lobby"?
Quavo and Takeoff, as the duo Unc & Phew.
When did "Hotel Lobby" come out?
May 20, 2022.
What album is "Hotel Lobby" on?
Only Built for Infinity Links, released October 7, 2022.
What does "Unc & Phew" mean?
"Uncle" and "nephew." Quavo is Takeoff's uncle.
When was the COLORS performance released?
June 17, 2022.
