Almost as soon as it was announced, L.A.-based Capitol Records ended its partnership with FN Meka creator Factory New.
Meka is a virtual rapper that has racked up more than 220,000 Instagram followers and over 10 million followers on its TikTok. His social accounts features music and occasional depictions of police brutality and posts CGI videos highlighting a fictional lifestyle that includes private jets and absurdly tricked-out luxury cars.
Social media backlash accused the characterās creators of spreading negative stereotypes and exploiting the real-life rapper Kyle the Hooligan, whose voice was used as the basis for Meka.
The controversy was embarrassing for Capitol Records and for Factory New, a āvirtual influencerā music promotion company that creates and promotes virtual entertainers. Factory New, which also used Mekaās TikTok to shill NFTs, was launched in 2020 by music executive Anthony Martini and Brandon Le.
The catalyst that prompted close scrutiny of FN Meka and its creators was an Instagram post on Mekaās now-private account depicting a police officer beating the green-haired character on a jail cell floor. A screenshot of the image went viral on Twitter. Capitol quickly backed out of the deal.
\u201cNothing shocks me anymore\u201dā Ahmed/The Ears \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf4 (@Ahmed/The Ears \ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddf4) 1661229483
Industry Blackoutāan organization that describes itself as a āunified body of black people in the industry committed to changing the communityāācalled the rapper a ādigital effigyā and ācareless abomination.ā In a statement posted on Twitter, Industry Blackout added that it found āfault in the lack of awareness in how offensive this caricature is.ā
Meka was āa direct insult to the Black community and our culture,ā the statement read, in addition to being āan amalgamation of gross stereotypesā and āappropriative mannerisms.ā
On Sunday, Kyle the Hooligan, the artist who provided Mekaās voice and helped write music for the character, told TMZ Hip Hop that he was done with Factory New.
The rapper said heād decided to cut ties because he gave the character a voice and had a role in writing the characterās music after the company promised him equityābut according to Andrew Orcutt, Kyleās legal rep, his client has not āreceived any formal offer for compensation.ā
Though he helped create Factory New, Anthony Martiniāan ex-hardcore singer turned music executiveāalso stepped away. In a statement published by Stereogum, Martini insisted that Mekaās āvocals have always been written and performed by humans, which in this case, have been black voicesāto be clear.ā He went on to say āvirtual characters have the potential to be a true equalizer and the next frontier in representation in the arts,ā and āvirtual avatars can and should enable MORE artists to have a platform, not fewer.ā
For its part, Capitol Records apologized, telling The Hollywood Reporter that they offered their ādeepest 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 daysāyour input was invaluable as we came to the decision to end our association with the project.ā
AI-created characters and music arenāt new, and some have been notably successful. Miquela, AKA @lilmiquela, was created in 2016 by Los Angeles-based startup Brud and quickly embraced by the fashion world. By 2018, Miquela was listed among TIME magazineās ā25 Most Influential People on the Internet.ā The character has become an Instagram fashion influencer with over three million followers.
Lil Miquela was a bellwether of things to come in AI and virtual characters. Thereās now an entire class of Virtual YouTubers or VTubersāentertainers that exist as computer-generated avatars created by various combinations of motion capture and sometimes artificial intelligence.
But if the saga of FN Meka proves one thing, itās that virtual characters present a kind of Wild West of new ethical considerations. Itās an exciting and still-new frontier, but with each project, thereās always a chance that the creatorās intentions wonāt align with the creationās impact.
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