Meka

Anthony Martini is facing another wave of controversy.The music executive made headlines this year for his defense of FN Meka, an A.I.-generated rapper that was backed by Martini’s New Factory project. The digital artist would go on to land a deal with Capitol Records, but was quickly dropped by the label following outrage over Meka’s use of racial slurs and stereotypes. Martini defended the project in a statement to the New York Times this month, questioning why people didn’t have the same criticism for lyrics written by…

The tale of FN Meka, music’s first signed augmented reality rapper, is a short though fascinating one. Its introduction raised concerns about augmented reality and the direction the music industry is headed in, but legendary producer Timbaland suggests the robo-rapper’s downfall had nothing to do with the technology being used. In fact, the super-producer and entrepreneur tells Complex that FN Meka’s “execution was correct.” “We can’t front on that,” he adds, “because it got people imagining and rethinking. And then it…

Anthony Martini, a co-founder of virtual music company Factory New, has said that listeners should be critical of the rap lyrics that informed the controversial A.I. rapper FN Meka.“If you’re mad about the lyrical content because it supposedly was A.I.,” he said, “why not be mad about the lyrical content in general?” Among the criticisms the project faced is how it was unclear who the team behind the project was, and the questions raised in making an A.I. rapper say the n-word. When Capitol Records dropped Meka, the label…

On Aug. 22, Capitol Records announced its newest signee, FN Meka—the world’s first augmented reality (AR) rapper. Two days later, the label “severed ties” with the rapper, citing relentless online criticism. “For our company to approve this shows a serious lack of diversity and resounding amount of tone deaf leadership. This is simply unacceptable and will not be tolerated,” Capitol Records wrote in a statement.FN Meka is the first AR rapper to get signed and subsequently dropped from a major label, but this is just the…

A major record label has dropped an AI rapper and offered its “deepest apologies to the Black community”, after the virtual creation was criticised for perpetuating racist stereotypes by using the N-word in a song and being portrayed being beaten by a police officer.FN Meka, an AI rapper given the appearance of a Black male cyborg, was created in 2019 by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le, the cofounders of Factory New, which billed itself as a “first of its kind, next-generation music company, specialising in virtual…

Capitol Music Group on Tuesday said it had “severed ties” with the A.I. rapper FN Meka after facing pushback from activist groups and observers that the virtual rapper was a stereotypical caricature of Black artists. “CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” a Capitol Music Group spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter. “We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community for our insensitivity in signing this project without asking enough questions about equity and the…

Capitol Records has dropped AI rapper FN Meka, less than two weeks after it signed the computer-generated rap artist to its roster. FN Meka, which has over 10 million followers on TikTok, had come under heavy fire for appropriating Black culture and mocking police brutality, with some critics calling it “digital blackface.”“CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” a representative for Capitol Music Group said in a statement. “We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community for our…

Fresh off signing FN Meka, Capitol Records has cut ties with the virtual rapper following criticism about the A.I. project.“CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” Capitol Music Group said in a statement provided to Complex. “We offer our deepest apologies to the Black community for our insensitivity in signing this project without asking enough questions about equity and the creative process behind it. We thank those who have reached out to us with constructive feedback in the past couple…

Virtual rapper FN Meka, who already has over 10 million followers on TikTok, has signed with Capitol Records and dropped a new single to celebrate.After making waves online with a series of independently-released singles and hyper-online visuals, FN Meka has teamed up with gaming influencer Cody “Clix” Conrod and Gunna for “Florida Water.” Produced by Turbo, who has notably worked with Travis Scott and Lil Baby among others, the song marks Meka's major label debut.As Music Business Worldwide reported, Capitol Music…