“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.
“CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” the label noted in a statement. “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.”
Just hours before Capitol made the announcement, the activist group Industry Blackout released a statement calling for the label to cut ties with FN Meka. It specifically noted Gunna’s involvement with this project while being incarcerated on RICO charges; the indictment specifically cited Gunna and Young Thug’s lyrics.