The Brief: The Lil Baby in a wig prank consists of social media users asking their parents if they can identify an old classmate when the picture is actually a black-and-white photo of rapper Lil Baby.

DEEP DIVE
Twitter users are pranking their parents by asking them to identify a woman from their class and sharing their parents’ responses on social media. The catch is, there is no way their parents can do so considering the picture is actually of 25-year old rapper Lil Baby.
The prank was inspired by an Aug. 18 Instagram post by @Brndyynorwood. They shared edited photos of Lil Baby in a wig sporting dangly earrings. It was uploaded alongside a screenshot of a text message exchange in which the user asked their mother if they knew the girl in the photograph. Their mother said the individual was “Shakima Reels.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CECACC0hXaj/?igshid=lx1obl74dvco
The photo and text message exchange went viral on Twitter after it was picked up and shared by Rap Alert.
LMFAOOO pic.twitter.com/IsPOSASvxu
— Rap Alert (@__rapalert) August 18, 2020
Twitter users began replicating the prank on their own parents and sharing the hilarious messages online, mostly in quoted replies. There are over 8,500 of them.
WHEN I TELL YOU. I CANT BREATHEEEEEEEEEE LMFAOOOOOOOOOO i am screaming yo https://t.co/X87AVhWGuB pic.twitter.com/j7lSLAKnUK
— k e v F e r g. β (@lilbig_) August 19, 2020
GOODNIGHT https://t.co/2eKCegCuLx pic.twitter.com/MUdIGtAC8N
— jay (@JAYVERSACE) August 19, 2020
I just tried it on my mom n sheβs ignorant LMAOOOOO omfggggggg. pic.twitter.com/8YxjJboNcV
— Money Meagzβ¨ (@_caramelfrap) August 18, 2020
One parent recalls Shakima trying to flirt with them:
Just lyin ππππππππ«π«π«I AM CRYNNNNNNNNNNNNN pic.twitter.com/HPyEyH8DF8
— alison. (@semisami_) August 18, 2020
Another was her BFF:
Omggggg I gotta tell my mama I was lien ππππ pic.twitter.com/J8GcDBmhxa
— ONE. (@PrettywithCASH) August 18, 2020
And, another was her teacher:
My mom said she taught her π€·πΏββ https://t.co/DEEORxVXYU pic.twitter.com/jjgCleFjsf
— Spencerβ’ π¦π¬ (@spencer_kadeem) August 19, 2020
Some Twitter users were curious about the real Shakima Reels’ whereabouts. According to the thread, it appears she passed which lead other users to take the joke even further.
This is why I hate Twitter π pic.twitter.com/U0Ii6jmH32
— Rap Alert (@__rapalert) August 18, 2020
Lil Baby found the viral moment pretty comical, tweeting his own spin on the joke, too.
Tell yall mamas stop playing with me ππππ
— Lil Baby (@lilbaby4PF) August 19, 2020