FN Meka recently signed a deal with Capitol Records, and it appears that not everyone is pleased with him joining the music scene, as evidenced by social media posts.
According to Uproxx, hip-hop fans are concerned about the rapper signing with the record label because he is a product of artificial intelligence.
The musician rose to prominence on social media, with over a billion views and 10 million TikTok followers.
Initially, he produced songs like “Moonwalkin” and “Speed Demon” on his own, which became popular hits on the platform.
To commemorate his new contract with Capitol Records, which includes Halsey, Johnny Depp, Jennifer Lopez, Lil Baby, Katy Perry, and others, he released “Florida Water,” a collaborative song with Clix and Gunna.
Capitol Records’ Ryan Ruden said to Music Business Worldwide that the rapper:
“meets at the intersection of music, technology and gaming culture.”
The recent label signing, according to the Executive Vice President of Experiential Marketing and Business Development, is just a “preview” of future projects.
He added:
“This latest project with FN Meka and Clix, while a first of its kind, is only an evolution of Capitol Records 80-year history of innovation.”
Anthony Martini, the co-founder of Meka’s first virtual record label Factory New, also issued a statement, stating that while the rapper’s vocals are derived from a human voice, they are working on technology that will produce music entirely from artificial intelligence.
Many hip-hop fans were outraged by FN Meka’s record deal with Capitol Records, claiming that record labels should hire and sign actual artists. Those who are working hard in the industry.
One fan wrote on Twitter:
“Don’t normalize this cause wtf and why yall really want androids just out here DO YALL NOT LEARN FROM IROBOT”
Another one wrote:
“Basically a big middle finger to all musicians but especially (human) rappers”
One expressed:
“Just gave a deal to a robot when there’s 1000 of actual humans that deserve it”
As of this writing, neither Capitol Records nor FN Meka’s team had responded to the criticism.