Capitol Records has signed an unusual new act, virtual rapper “FN Meka”. Powered by artificial intelligence, this new rapper has already gained a huge following and has dropped an official single featuring Gunna.
FN Meka has a huge following on social media, including 10 million followers on TikTok. On his page, Meka invites fans into his virtual world, which includes jumbo Bugatti jets, Maybach helicopters and machines that can turn ice into iced watches. According to XXL, “FN Meka” is the creation of Anthony Martini and Brandon Le. The men are cofounders of Factory New, a virtual record label who were the first to “sign” the robot rapper. According to Martini, the rapper’s voice is a real human, but everything else is based off AI technology.
“Technically speaking, FN Meka is voiced by a human,” Martini told Music Business Worldwide. “But everything else about him—from his lyrics to the chords and tempo underpinning his music—is based on AI.”
Capitol Records say that FN Meka is the #1 “virtual being” on the video platform, as well as the world’s “first AR artist” to sign with a major label. It’s debut single, “Florida Water” featuring Gunna, is being made available to creators to use music onYouTube and Twitch “without monetization or takedowns”.
