Johannesburg - Artificial Intelligence rapper FN Meka became the world’s first non-human musician to score a record deal with Capitol Music Group (CMG) – a deal which went sour over the use of racial slurs.
Amassing over a billion views on TikTok, 500 000 monthly Spotify subscribers and millions of followers worldwide, US-based FN Meka made its first appearance in April 2019, going viral across several social networks.
@fnmeka I’m a robot rapper who loves to dance. #dripwalk #foryoupage #fyp ♬ Internet - FNMeka
FN Meka, which takes on the appearance of a black male cyborg, is the brainchild of Anthony Martini and Brandon Le, co-founders of US-based Factory New, which recently scored the record deal, which has met backlash over the use of the “N-word” in its music.
The virtual rapper’s use of the racial slur drew wide-strewn criticism from various human rights communities, including multitudes of social media posts calling out the AI rapper and CMG over the record deal.
One such community, @industryblackout on Instagram, posted a statement to its profile lambasting CMG calling the “digital effigy” a “careless abomination and disrespectful to real people who face real consequences in real life”.
“Dear capitol records, it has come to our attention that your company has decided to partner with factory new on signing the artificially designed ‘rapper’ FN Meka.
“While we applaud innovation in tech that connects listeners to music and enhances the experience, we find fault in the lack of awareness in how offensive this caricature is.
“It is a direct insult to the black community and our culture. An amalgamation of gross stereotypes, appropriative mannerisms that derive from black artists, complete with slurs infused in lyrics,” the group said on Instagram.
Meanwhile, heeding global calls of backlash, CMG conceded and severed ties with the non-human musician and released an open letter which read:
“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 of days – your input was invaluable as we came to the decision to end our association with the project.”
The virtual rapper is reportedly worth between $5 and $6 million while showcasing commercials for the sale of non-fungible tokens on its TikTok account.
FN Meka also featured guest appearances by rapper Gunna and Fortnite player Clix on its debut single, released by CMG.
IOL Tech