As previously reported by REVOLT, artificial intelligence rapper FN Meka has been dropped by Capitol Records after just two weeks of being signed. The first-of-its-kind artist immediately grabbed attention for being a non-human musician signed to a major label. FN Meka soon faced backlash for using racial slurs in its lyrics and was accused of perpetuating racial stereotypes.
Today (Aug. 24), Twitter users are continuing to express their relief that Capitol Records has chosen to sever ties with the bot. “That FN Meka prison post was TOO f**king weird. Glad they pulled the plug on allat,” one tweet read. The user was referring to a viral photo of the heavily tattooed AI rapper being beaten by a white police officer while in prison — which appeared to make a mockery of urban artists. “POLICE BRUTALITY!? What Should I Do ?!?! This Guard keeps beating me w/his BATON because I [won’t] snitch. I [ain’t] NO RAT. Life in Prison is so Depressing. I wish I could get out so I could start making music again,” the picture is captioned.
FN Meka’s Instagram account is now private, but the screenshots (and outrage) remain. “I’m glad they got FN Meka outta here quick, s**t like that shouldn’t represent hip hop AT ALL,” a user wrote. Another added, “Glad to hear they’ve severed ties with FN Meka, it just shows there aren’t enough BLACK people making decisions higher up or that wouldn’t have been approved.”
To add insult to injury, FN Meka was reportedly co-created by a white man named Anthony Martini. “A white dude creates FN Meka, has it saying ‘n**ga’ and using police brutality as content is so crazy to me,” a tweet noted. A similar post read, “FN Meka is controlled by a white man who programs it to say the N-Word, in case you didn’t know.”
Capitol Records released a statement announcing the split with FN Meka after mounting criticism: “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.”