<s>
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
is	O
a	O
fictional	O
rapper/avatar	O
originally	O
developed	O
by	O
Brandon	O
Le	O
in	O
2019	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
company	O
Factory	O
New	O
,	O
with	O
Anthony	O
Martini	O
joining	O
the	O
project	O
in	O
early	O
2020	O
as	O
co-founder	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Self-described	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
virtual	O
rapper	O
"	O
,	O
the	O
project	O
had	O
claimed	O
that	O
the	O
music	O
and	O
lyrics	O
were	O
generated	B-General_Concept
by	I-General_Concept
an	I-General_Concept
AI	I-General_Concept
using	O
thousands	O
of	O
data	O
points	O
compiled	O
from	O
video	O
games	O
and	O
social	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
,	O
this	O
was	O
called	O
into	O
question	O
when	O
Houston	O
,	O
Texas-based	O
rapper	O
Kyle	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hooligan	I-Application
claimed	O
to	O
be	O
the	O
anonymous	O
human	O
voice	O
behind	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
currently	O
the	O
most	O
prominent	O
virtual	O
rapper	O
,	O
with	O
over	O
10	O
million	O
followers	O
and	O
over	O
a	O
billion	O
views	O
on	O
TikTok	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
garnered	O
media	O
coverage	O
when	O
it	O
was	O
signed	O
to	O
Capitol	O
Records	O
on	O
August	O
14	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
becoming	O
the	O
first	O
"	O
AI-generated	O
rapper	O
"	O
to	O
be	O
signed	O
to	O
a	O
major	O
label	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
controversy	O
over	O
its	O
stereotyping	O
of	O
black	O
people	O
,	O
Capitol	O
dropped	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
from	O
its	O
label	O
ten	O
days	O
later	O
on	O
August	O
23	O
,	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
's	O
avatar	B-Application
appears	O
as	O
a	O
Black	O
male	O
cyborg	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Factory	O
New	O
claimed	O
that	O
all	O
of	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
's	O
character	O
and	O
music	O
,	O
except	O
his	O
voice	O
,	O
was	O
solely	O
based	O
on	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
(	O
AI	B-Application
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
AI	B-Application
,	O
according	O
to	O
Martini	O
,	O
analysed	O
popular	O
songs	O
and	O
video	O
games	O
and	O
then	O
generated	O
recommendations	O
for	O
its	O
lyrical	O
content	O
,	O
chords	O
,	O
melody	O
,	O
tempo	B-Application
and	O
sounds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
proprietary	O
technology	O
supposedly	O
used	O
in	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
's	O
song	O
development	O
was	O
provided	O
by	O
the	O
music	O
company	O
Vydia	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
also	O
has	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
sell	O
virtual	O
items	O
and	O
non-fungible	O
tokens	O
(	O
NFTs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
March	O
2021	O
,	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
(	O
in	O
collaboration	O
with	O
RTFKT	O
)	O
sold	O
a	O
NFT	O
of	O
a	O
"	O
Lamborghini	B-Device
porta-potty	O
"	O
for	O
$	O
6,432	O
on	O
SuperRare	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
was	O
designed	O
in	O
2019	O
by	O
Brandon	O
Le	O
,	O
originally	O
to	O
sell	O
non-fungible	O
tokens	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
his	O
daughter	O
showed	O
him	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
on	O
Instagram	B-Application
,	O
American	O
business	O
executive	O
Anthony	O
Martini	O
decided	O
to	O
partner	O
with	O
Le	O
and	O
in	O
early	O
2020	O
joined	O
his	O
company	O
,	O
Factory	O
New	O
,	O
a	O
record	O
label	O
created	O
exclusively	O
for	O
virtual	B-Application
artists	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Factory	O
New	O
's	O
vision	O
,	O
according	O
to	O
Martini	O
,	O
was	O
based	O
primarily	O
on	O
the	O
belief	O
that	O
,	O
as	O
virtual	B-Application
avatars	I-Application
are	O
ageless	O
,	O
a	O
franchise	O
of	O
virtual	O
music	O
artists	O
could	O
be	O
created	O
with	O
purely	O
virtual	B-Application
avatars	I-Application
;	O
“	O
We	O
’re	O
taking	O
cues	O
from	O
a	O
company	O
like	O
Marvel	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
a	O
record	O
label	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
’s	O
a	O
way	O
to	O
enable	O
a	O
much	O
longer	O
career	O
if	O
you	O
build	O
a	O
franchise	O
,	O
and	O
we	O
’re	O
going	O
to	O
start	O
creating	O
a	O
universe	O
of	O
music	O
characters.	O
”	O
Martini	O
also	O
stated	O
his	O
belief	O
that	O
traditional	O
artists	O
and	O
repertoire	O
(	O
A&R	O
)	O
is	O
"	O
inefficient	O
and	O
unreliable	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
that	O
using	O
virtual	B-Application
avatars	I-Application
and	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
together	O
would	O
increase	O
the	O
success	O
rate	O
of	O
creating	O
successful	O
music	O
artists	O
and	O
produce	O
more	O
hit	O
singles	O
and	O
music	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
is	O
the	O
first	O
signee	O
to	O
Factory	O
New	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
made	O
its	O
debut	O
in	O
April	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
April	O
2020	O
,	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
had	O
obtained	O
1.6	O
million	O
followers	O
on	O
TikTok	B-Application
,	O
and	O
by	O
2021	O
it	O
had	O
garnered	O
ten	O
million	O
followers	O
and	O
over	O
one	O
billion	O
views	O
on	O
TikTok	B-Application
,	O
making	O
it	O
the	O
most	O
prominent	O
virtual	O
rapper	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
accumulated	O
a	O
relatively	O
smaller	O
following	O
on	O
Instagram	B-Application
of	O
two-hundred	O
and	O
six	O
thousand	O
followers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
14	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
Capitol	O
Records	O
announced	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
"	O
signed	O
"	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
to	O
their	O
label	O
,	O
resulting	O
in	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
becoming	O
the	O
first	O
ever	O
AI-generated	O
rapper	O
to	O
be	O
signed	O
to	O
a	O
major	O
label	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
day	O
,	O
Capitol	O
released	O
Meka	O
's	O
debut	O
single	O
on	O
the	O
label	O
,	O
"	O
Florida	O
Water	O
"	O
,	O
a	O
collaboration	O
with	O
Gunna	O
,	O
professional	O
Fortnite	B-Application
player	O
Clix	O
,	O
Turbo	O
,	O
and	O
DJ	O
Holiday	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Shortly	O
after	O
its	O
signing	O
to	O
the	O
label	O
,	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
began	O
receiving	O
criticism	O
from	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
news	O
outlets	O
over	O
its	O
collaboration	O
with	O
Gunna	O
,	O
who	O
was	O
incarcerated	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
for	O
racketeering	O
,	O
and	O
also	O
its	O
perceived	O
racial	O
stereotyping	O
of	O
black	O
people	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
caricature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
garnered	O
intense	O
criticism	O
after	O
it	O
was	O
speculated	O
that	O
no	O
black	O
people	O
were	O
directly	O
involved	O
in	O
the	O
creation	O
of	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
,	O
with	O
one	O
of	O
his	O
known	O
creators	O
being	O
white	O
and	O
the	O
other	O
Asian	O
;	O
this	O
was	O
deemed	O
problematic	O
due	O
to	O
Meka	O
's	O
use	O
of	O
the	O
N-word	O
in	O
several	O
of	O
its	O
songs	O
,	O
including	O
"	O
Florida	O
Water	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
then	O
,	O
Martini	O
has	O
claimed	O
that	O
the	O
anonymous	O
human	O
who	O
voiced	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
was	O
black	O
and	O
that	O
the	O
team	O
behind	O
Meka	O
was	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
diverse	O
teams	O
you	O
can	O
get.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
campaign	O
group	O
Industry	O
Blackout	O
demanded	O
that	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
be	O
dropped	O
from	O
the	O
label	O
and	O
a	O
public	O
apology	O
from	O
Capitol	O
,	O
describing	O
in	O
a	O
statement	O
the	O
caricature	O
,	O
stereotyping	O
and	O
cultural	O
appropriation	O
of	O
Black	O
artists	O
that	O
they	O
saw	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
represented	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
23	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
Capitol	O
Music	O
Group	O
(	O
CMG	O
)	O
released	O
an	O
apology	O
statement	O
announcing	O
it	O
had	O
dropped	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
"	O
with	O
immediate	O
effect	O
"	O
and	O
said	O
that	O
it	O
had	O
signed	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
"	O
without	O
asking	O
enough	O
questions	O
about	O
equity	O
and	O
the	O
creative	O
process	O
behind	O
it.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
day	O
after	O
,	O
rapper	O
Kyle	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hooligan	I-Application
claimed	O
on	O
Instagram	B-Application
that	O
he	O
was	O
the	O
original	O
voice	O
of	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
alleged	O
that	O
Factory	O
New	O
"	O
ghosted	O
"	O
him	O
around	O
2021	O
after	O
FN	B-Application
Meka	I-Application
grew	O
in	O
popularity	O
and	O
failed	O
to	O
fulfill	O
any	O
of	O
the	O
commitments	O
they	O
had	O
promised	O
him	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Kyle	B-Application
the	I-Application
Hooligan	I-Application
announced	O
on	O
August	O
28	O
,	O
2022	O
,	O
that	O
he	O
intends	O
to	O
sue	O
Brandon	O
Le	O
and	O
Factory	O
New	O
.	O
</s>
