Social media is a vast network where trends and viral content constantly emerge.

Recently, an upbeat and energetic song titled ‘Hawak mo ang Beat’ by DJ Mogo has taken over online platforms, accompanied by a popular dance trend that many users have joined.

At first, the identity of the song’s composer was unclear, sparking curiosity among listeners who were eager to know who created the viral track, especially since the artist did not yet have a widely recognized career.

Eventually, the person behind the trending song appeared to be a French national who is based in Tacloban namely Sylvain Hernandez. He was featured in a television news magazine show broadcast where he talked about the song.

According to Hernandez, the making of the song started out in French as he was still struggling in Filipino. But with the help of his wife, he was able to finish it.

“I had those notes in my mind, from the cha-cha of Leyte until the very heavy drums of the Budots style. Here came ‘Hawak Mo Ang Beat.’ I wanted to create something musical but not heavy,” he said on the show.

When asked whether he was the voice behind the track, the composer refused to answer and only said that it’s a secret. 

News outlet DZRH, in one of their articles, tagged and claimed that the song was AI-generated.

“The voice behind the viral hit was created using AI technology, crafted by sampling a pleasing vocal tone and transforming it into a full-fledged song. That’s why the singer can’t be identified—because there isn’t one in the traditional sense.”

However, Hernandez firmly denied the rumors.

“No any part of the song was generated by AI. Authentic, 100 percent made with my hands and my love for the Philippines,” he said. “I just want the people to focus on the music itself. If you like the beat and the energy, then tara let’s dance on it. Let’s enjoy it.”

Doubts

Several factors have fueled netizens’ doubts about the viral song.

First, the track was originally uploaded in 2025 on Spotify by OPM Music Studio, a verified artist known for producing Filipino pop, dance, and budots-style music. The account has released songs such as ‘Sayaw hanggang umaga,’ ‘Sumabay ka sa beat,’ and ‘Galaw,’ which some listeners claim sound AI-generated.

It was only in 2026 that Hernandez uploaded ‘Hawak mo ang Beat’ on Spotify under his own screen name, further raising questions about the song’s origins.

In a Tiktok video posted by user @sefdestruct, he said that he traced back the origin of the song until he saw OPM Music Studio profile.

“They released 12 songs in a span of two weeks. They have zero social media presence and no live performances,” he said. “Is AI really taking over humanities, arts, and music?”

Second, a Reddit post from a netizen alleged that the track is ‘AI slop’—a term used to describe low-quality, mass-produced digital content generated with minimal human oversight. The user also pointed to a specific AI music generator, SUNO AI, which they suspect may have been used in creating the song.

“If you have a good ear you can easily tell if it’s AI slop (or 100% SUNO generated track) and based on what I heard the SUNO generated sound of “Hawak Mo Ang Beat” is funny, DJ Mogo who is the composer, doesn’t use AI and sings with his very deep French accent hahaha!”

Netizens have also pointed out that Hernandez doesn’t have a clear music identity based on his Spotify profile.

Credibility 

Whether the viral song is AI-generated remains unconfirmed. While Hernandez insists that it is authentic, observations from some listeners suggest otherwise, keeping the debate ongoing.

The use of artificial intelligence has long been a point of concern in society. While it can be helpful in many ways, its capabilities also raise fears—from generating articles and enabling deepfakes to now producing music, potentially compromising the creative identity of real artists.

For now, netizens can only hope that the content they enjoy and consume on social media is genuinely human-made, and not something created by AI.

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