Almost as quickly as it began, the music industry may have seen the end of the infamous Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) rapper referred to as "FN Meka", a computer-generated character being widely condemned for appropriating Black culture and saying the N-word. The A.I. rapper was developed by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le, co-founders of Factory New, a Metaverse media company. Some critics claim that the creators who are not Black are trivializing Black art and the Black experience, tantamount to what some are calling "digital Blackface." "In many ways, digital Blackface is an example of … the'digital afterlife of slavery' and Jim Crow, where you have real people and virtual characters engaging in a kind of machine-automated minstrelsy that disrespects and disregards the artistry and production value that goes into the creation of Black culture," Dr. Faithe J. Day, Assistant Professor of Black Studies at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), told California Black Media. Media watchers say FN Meka is modeled after rap artists like Lil Pump and Travis Scott and was voiced by real-life rap artist Kyle the Hooligan.

The minstrel show has returned, riding on the apocalyptic horses of artificial intelligence, social media, and NFTs. FN Meka, a rapper created by artificial intelligence who gained TikTok fame through viral short music videos, exists. This fact itself is unfortunate. More unfortunate is that the artificial construct was temporarily signed to Capitol Records. The company dropped FN Meka in response to complaints from Industry Blackout, an activist organization of Black professionals in the entertainment industry, who accused the creators of engaging in racist stereotypes and a modern version of blackface.

Artificial intelligence disrupted the music industry this week when a major recording label signed--and then quickly dropped--a "robot rapper" who casually dropped the N-word in their lyrics. Many Black artists felt the decision to sign the AI rapper in the first place was a racist slap in the face. "Real talk, anybody who was involved with research, development, and signing this artist at Capitol music should have their resignation submitted or their jobs terminated," rock singer Ali Adkins of Ali A and the Agency in Phoenix told The Daily Beast. "Because that just means you don't get 50 fucks about the music. You just care about making a [dollar]."

"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." On August 14, Capitol Records announced that it had signed FN Meka, a digital rapper and TikTok influencer described by the label as "the world's first A.R. artist to sign with a major label." A press release from FN Meka's 2021 publicist described Meka as an "A.I. powered robot rapper." Meka's first single on the label was "Florida Water," which featured Gunna and gaming streamer Clix. As of today, FN Meka is no longer on a major label; Capitol has announced that it has "severed ties" with the rapper, The New York Times' Joe Coscarelli reports.

What exactly should we come to expect from AI-generated'artists'? Well, it depends on how comfortable you are with AI technology slowly but surely encroaching on normal human life. Nothing can replace organic artistry though...or can it? Meet FN Meka - the world's first AI robot rapper, who is currently doing his thing, releasing music on TikTok. His content online has earned him over a billion views and 9 million TikTok followers.