FN Meka

The world's first augmented-reality rapper cocreated by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le of Factory New has over 10 million followers on TikTok.

“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. and was cocreated by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le of the company Factory New. An amalgamation of gross stereotypes, appropriative mannerisms that derive from Black artists, complete with slurs infused in lyrics,” the statement said. While the voice is based on a real human, the rest is all down to artificial intelligence. “We find fault in the lack of awareness in how offensive this caricature is.” The single featured Fortnite gamer Clix and Atlanta rapper Gunna.

Capitol Records is severing ties with FN Meka, a virtual artist whose signing had been recently trumpeted as a coup...

It’s no surprise that it’s become the music industry’s social media focus – and thus potentially a path to artist burnout. [still has more than 10 million followers on TikTok](https://www.tiktok.com/@fnmeka?lang=en), the platform that fuelled his high-profile signing in the first place. “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. Let’s hope so, given the growing number of AI-powered avatar-artist startups and projects in 2022. “It is a direct insult to the Black community and our culture. “CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” said the label in a statement.

Capitol Music Group faced a backlash for signing the artificial intelligence musician.

[an open letter saying](https://twitter.com/industryblkout/status/1562142057472225288/photo/1) FN Meka was "offensive" and "a direct insult to the Black community and our culture". "We thank those who have reached out to us with constructive feedback in the past couple of days - your input was invaluable as we came to the decision to end our association with the project," they added. In a statement announcing they had severed ties, CMG offered its "deepest apologies to the black community for our insensitivity".

Capitol has 'severed ties' with the virtual artist and offered 'our deepest apologies to the Black community'

“This digital effigy is a careless abomination and disrespectful to real people who face real consequences in real life. “We demand this partnership be terminated, a formal public apology be issued, FN Meka removed from all platforms. It is a direct insult to the Black community and our culture. For example, Gunna, a Black artist who is featured on a song with FN Meka, is currently incarcerated for rapping the same type of lyrics this robot mimics. Capitol Records confirmed yesterday (August 23): “CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately. An amalgamation of gross stereotypes, appropriative mannerisms that derive from Black artists, complete with slurs infused in lyrics.

Virtual Rapper FN Meka has spoken out after being dropped by Capitol Records, and it's blamed its short-lived major label career on "racist reporters."

The voice is a black guy,” FN Meka’s message read. “Lady came up w/ idea, asian modeled it to give a rapper a voice,” FN Meka replied. “CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” the label relayed in a statement. “haha like an asian dude that sounds black or a voice actor?” at some point in the future. FnMeka is made by a black lady and a asian guy w/ a black voice. FN Meka then sent a follow-up DM to Johnson to further clarify that its voice was “a black guy” and not an asian person putting on a Blaccent. I think they might be going somewhere with this. In a screenshot of an apparent reply from the rapper, Meka replied: “Ty Jarvis!!! “Its a simple business cooperation lmao. The digital rapper had garnered over a billion views and accrued 10 million followers on TikTok alone, making it the No. Rapper is black as you can tell by his voice.

(ETX Daily Up) - En moins de trois ans de carrière, il a réussi à se faire un nom dans la musique. FN Meka est devenu, le 23 août, le premier artiste ...

"Cette effigie numérique est une abomination irréfléchie et un manque de respect envers des personnes réelles qui subissent des conséquences réelles dans la vraie vie", stipule la lettre ouverte d’Industry Blackout. Mais il y a fort à parier que ses chiffres baissent en réaction à la polémique. Mais la puissante maison de disques a mis fin à ce partenariat dans la foulée, après que le "robot-rappeur" ait été accusé de perpétuer des stéréotypes racistes. Face à l’ampleur de la polémique, Capitol Records s’est publiquement excusé d’avoir signé un contrat avec l’avatar. Tout est parti d’une lettre ouverte qu’Industry Blackout, une organisation militante à but non lucratif créée en 2020 pour promouvoir l'équité dans l’industrie musicale, a publiée sur les réseaux sociaux à l’attention de Capitol Records. (ETX Daily Up) - En moins de trois ans de carrière, il a réussi à se faire un nom dans la musique.

Le rappeur FN Meka, alimenté par une IA, a signé un contrat avec la maison de disque américaine Capitol Records. Il en a été viré dans la foulée, ...

Le jour de l’annonce de la signature, le rappeur "virtuel" avait sorti son premier single, "Florida Water", fruit d’une collaboration avec le rappeur Gunna et Clix, joueur professionnel du jeu en ligne Fortnite. "Techniquement parlant, FN Meka est " doublé " par un humain, expliquait à Music Business Worldwide, son créateur Anthony Martini. Certains avaient alors questionné l’intérêt d’engager des êtres virtuels, au lieu de consacrer ces budgets à la longue liste d’artistes réels attendant d’être repérés. [New York Times.](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/arts/music/fn-meka-dropped-capitol-records.html) Cette décision fait suite à de vives critiques émanant notamment d’Industry Blackout, une organisation militant pour promouvoir l’équité dans l’industrie musicale. L’encre du contrat avait eu quelques jours à peine pour sécher que la maison de disque revenait finalement sur sa décision, après que FN Meka ait été accusé de perpétuer des stéréotypes racistes et de discriminer la communauté noire. C’est, ou plutôt, c’était une première.

Le rappeur virtuel n'a plus de contrat !

Game est connu pour ses prises de positions parfois trop tranchées, mais là, on ne peut pas faire autrement que d'être d'accord avec lui... Nous présentons nos plus sincères excuses à la communauté noire pour notre insensibilité à signer ce projet sans nous poser suffisamment de questions sur l'équité et le processus créatif derrière celui-ci. Après, on n'est pas à l'abri d'une autre tentative de la sorte, c'est un peu le sens de l'histoire.Game est connu pour ses prises de positions parfois trop tranchées, mais là, on ne peut pas faire autrement que d'être d'accord avec lui... Le label d'Universal s'était même félicité de cette avancée et se pensait dans le sens de l'histoire. "Capitol a rompu les liens avec le projet FN Meka, avec effet immédiat. C'était sans compter sur la puissance des réactions négatives et l'opposition de la communauté hip-hop.

Les créateurs de cette caricature virtuelle de rappeur afro-américain aux cheveux fluos et aux milliers de followers, sont accusés d'exploiter la culture ...

Il y a deux semaines, Capitol, maison de disques historique de Frank Sinatra et Minnie Riperton, propriété d’Universal, a annoncé avoir signé FN Meka, le premier «AR artist» (artiste en réalité augmenté) à rejoindre l’écurie d’une major. Doté d’une apparence de cyborg looké en rappeur «Soundcloud» façonnée à partir de données glanées sur les réseaux (chevelure fluorescente, dentition dorée, tatouages et piercings faciaux), il est à la fois le héros de vidéos aux airs de parodie dans lesquels il s’épanche sur ses passions matérialistes et, c’est moins commun, un «artiste» interprète de quelques «vrais» morceaux de rap, résolument médiocres et interprétés par un rappeur en chair et en os et anonyme. Né en 2019, manifestement conçu comme un aimant à abonnés (un peu plus de 10 millions à ce jour), à flux (des vues qui se comptent en milliards) et à dollars (des NFT brandés, en forme de WC ont déjà été commercialisés), FN Meka aurait dû demeurer en principe relégué à la subculture Internet et aux tréfonds des commentaires sur YouTube.

Capitol Music Group faced a backlash for signing the artificial intelligence musician.

[an open letter saying](https://twitter.com/industryblkout/status/1562142057472225288/photo/1) FN Meka was "offensive" and "a direct insult to the Black community and our culture". "We thank those who have reached out to us with constructive feedback in the past couple of days - your input was invaluable as we came to the decision to end our association with the project," they added. In a statement announcing they had severed ties, CMG offered its "deepest apologies to the black community for our insensitivity".

Yesterday (23rd August), the activist group Industry Blackout released a statement demanding that the Universal-owned label terminate their contract with FN ...

“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. People also pointed to a [post made through FN Meka's Instagram account](https://twitter.com/limitedmitch/status/1561999771090489344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1561999771090489344%7Ctwgr%5Ecea71d669d78ddfe32091f238a34509a775d2628%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fmusic%2F2022%2Faug%2F24%2Fmajor-record-label-drops-offensive-ai-rapper-after-outcry-over-racial-stereotyping) that depicted acts of police brutality against the character. [statement](https://twitter.com/industryblkout/status/1562142057472225288) demanding that the Universal-owned label terminate their contract with FN Meka, outlining a "lack of awareness in how offensive this caricature is. FN Meka, a character with the appearance of a Black male cyborg, was created in 2019 by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le, the cofounders of Factory New. An amalgamation of gross stereotypes, appropriative mannerisms that derive from Black artists, complete with slurs infused in lyrics." [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/this-robot-rapper-has-9-million-followers-on-tiktok-his-creator-thinks-traditional-ar-is-inefficient-and-unreliable/), Anthony Martini said that, while FN Meka's vocals are performed by an anonymous human, the music and lyrics are created using AI.

Less than two weeks after signing 'virtual' rapper FN Meka, Universal's Capitol Records has announced that it is ending its partnership with the project due ...

[Universal Music](https://completemusicupdate.com/tag/universal-music/) [FN Meka](https://completemusicupdate.com/tag/fn-meka/) [Capitol](https://completemusicupdate.com/tag/capitol/) [Factory New](https://completemusicupdate.com/tag/factory-new/) He claims that the whole thing is actually spearheaded by the human rapper who voices FN Meka, and that his company is more akin to a traditional artist manager. “For example, Gunna, a black artist who is featured on a song by FN Meka, is currently incarcerated for rapping the same type of lyrics this robot mimics.

The strange saga of FN Meka, who was signed to and dropped from Capitol Records in the span of a few days, and is also not real.

[released a statement to Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/capitol-records-drops-fn-meka-first-virtual-rapper-1234580495/) in which they announced he was no longer signed, apologized, and acknowledged the widespread backlash against Meka for the character’s reliance on harmful racial stereotypes. [Per Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/capitol-records-just-signed-a-virtual-artist-fn-meka-he-has-over-10-million-followers-on-tiktok/), Meka’s signing was announced on August 12. [According to Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/this-robot-rapper-has-9-million-followers-on-tiktok-his-creator-thinks-traditional-ar-is-inefficient-and-unreliable/), the controversial FN Meka was the project of a company called Factory New, which creates virtual artists to turn into social-media personalities. (It’s worth noting that Factory New also has another subtext-shattering virtual artist simply named Lil Bitcoin, [per the Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/arts/music/fn-meka-dropped-capitol-records.html).) One of Meka’s [most egregious posts from 2019](https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/creators-of-virtual-rapper-fn-meka-under-fire-for-mocking-police-brutality-news.156800.html) depicted him being assaulted by a white cop in prison, an apparent attempt to capitalize on the pervasive issue of police brutality just for social-media clout. [“severed ties”](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/arts/music/fn-meka-dropped-capitol-records.html) with him after criticism spread across the internet like wildfire. The CG Meka looks like he was created for a PlayStation game about a 2017-era SoundCloud rapper, with dyed green hair, face tattoos, and tryhard streetwear outfits.

FN Meka - described in social media accounts as a "robot rapper not accepted by this world" - currently has more than 10 million followers on TikTok and ...

In their open letter to Capitol, captioned "Have you lost your FN minds?" Its Instagram account, which has more than 220,000 followers, is currently set as private. Its Instagram account, which has 220,000 followers, is currently set as private.

Le groupe activiste Industry Blackout a notamment demandé à Capitol Records de cesser ses activités avec FN Meka. « Nous trouvons à redire au manque de prise de ...

[Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/capitol-records-just-signed-a-virtual-artist-fn-meka-he-has-over-10-million-followers-on-tiktok/)). Ce qui a mis un terme à la présence de FN Meka dans la maison de disque de Capitol Records est de nombreuses critiques sur les réseaux sociaux ainsi que de la part d’Industry Blackout. On peut lire dans la déclaration d’Industry Blackout que « Gunna, un artiste noir qui est sur la chanson avec FN Meka, est présentement incarcéré pour avoir rappé le même type de paroles que ce robot imite. « Nous présentons nos plus profondes excuses à la communauté noire pour notre insensibilité en signant ce projet sans avoir posé suffisamment de questions sur l’équité et le processus créatif qui le sous-tend. La maison de disque déclare alors que « FN Meka est le premier artiste de réalité augmentée au monde à signer avec une grande maison de disque ( Martini à [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/this-robot-rapper-has-9-million-followers-on-tiktok-his-creator-thinks-traditional-ar-is-inefficient-and-unreliable/). Au moment de la sortie, le vice-président exécutif du marketing expérientiel et du développement commercial de Capitol Music Group, Ryan Ruden, déclare : « La chanson Florida Water se trouve à la croisée entre la musique, la technologique et la culture des jeux vidéo. [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/this-robot-rapper-has-9-million-followers-on-tiktok-his-creator-thinks-traditional-ar-is-inefficient-and-unreliable/). [StayHipp](https://stayhipp.com/glossary/who-is-fn-meka/), « FN Meka partage des caractéristiques avec d’autres musiciens générés par ordinateur et animés comme Lil Miquela et [Gorillaz](https://lecanalauditif.ca/artistes/gorillaz/). En gros, ce sont des gens générées par ordinateur à qui on donne des personnalités et des caractéristiques réalistes, comme par exemple des tatouages ( [Digital Music News](https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/03/29/ai-rapper-fn-meka-nft/)). [Digital Music News](https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2021/03/29/ai-rapper-fn-meka-nft/), « FN Meka est ce qu’on appelle un influenceur virtuel – un non-humain qui génère des milliards de vues sur les réseaux sociaux. « Il a été créé en utilisant des milliers de points de données compilés à partir de jeux vidéo et de médias sociaux », rapporte

Capitol Music Group announced it would drop FN Meka from the label Tuesday, sending their "deepest apologies to the Black community."

[Industry Blackout,](https://www.instagram.com/p/ChnJGi2potN/?hl=en) an organization of entertainment industry professionals aimed at "changing the community," co-founded by [ rapper and producer D-Dot,](https://twitter.com/DDotOmen) issued an open letter to Capitol Records condemning the partnership with FN Meka. An amalgamation of gross stereotypes, and appropriative mannerisms that derive from Black artists." It’s literally no different from managing a human artist, except that it’s digital.” Martini and Le developed the concept as the founders of media company, Factory New. [ The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/arts/music/fn-meka-dropped-capitol-records.html) on Tuesday that the backlash was a result of "clickbait" that created a "narrative" around FN Meka. ](https://twitter.com/MajestyRia/status/1562211630208806912) [Another user tweeted](https://twitter.com/TiphSeven/status/1561776090271604744): "Y'all not calling out this digital minstrel show enough for me." They all thought it was a great idea. FN Meka was created in 2019 by Brandon Le and Anthony Martini, according to Rather, the cartoon rapper uses AI technology to create music. They all saw dollar signs & felt innovative without any regard to the culture they’re actively exploiting daily," [The New York Times](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/arts/music/fn-meka-dropped-capitol-records.html) and [ The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/24/major-record-label-drops-offensive-ai-rapper-after-outcry-over-racial-stereotyping). [Capitol Music Group](https://www.universalmusic.com/label/capitol-music-group/) nixed its "first AR artist" [FN Meka](https://www.tiktok.com/@fnmeka/video/7132972060870987054?is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1&lang=en) from its label after the partnership spurred backlash.

When Capitol Records signed so-called robot rapper FN Meka earlier this month, it billed the move as a new frontier in the music industry.

"It is a direct insult to the Black community and our culture. "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," Capitol Music Group said in a statement shared with CNN. How many of them are just vessels for commercial endeavors?" , a label founded by music industry veteran Anthony Martini and video game artist Brandon Le. The avatar amassed more than 10 million followers on TikTok, and But just weeks after the Black male cyborg debuted its first single under the major label, Capitol Records shelved the effort over criticism from Black music industry professionals who said the virtual character was fashioned out of reductive stereotypes.

The voice behind Capitol Records' very short-lived artificial intelligence rapper project is speaking out … and he's actually thankful the label treated the ...

We spoke to hip hop superproducer Hitmaka Wednesday on "TMZ Live," and he blamed Capitol’s “capitalistic” mindset for letting FN Meka thrive. like the ability for it to use the N-word. The voice behind Capitol Records’ very short-lived artificial intelligence rapper project is speaking out …