Capitol Records reportedly made history by signing the first artificial intelligence rapper, FN Meka. The move is raising quite a few eyebrows and raising more than a few questions about the future of the music industry.
The "robot rapper" has a new single out titled "Florida Water," featuring Gunna and gaming streamer Clix. FN Meka is the brainchild of Anthony Martini and Brandon Le, cofounders of Factory New, a virtual record label who were the first to "sign" the robot rapper.
"Technically speaking, FN Meka is voiced by a human," Martini said. "But everything else about him—from his lyrics to the chords and tempo underpinning his music—is based on AI."
"[It] meets at the intersection of music, technology and gaming culture," said Ryan Ruden, Capitol Music Group’s Executive Vice President of Experiential Marketing & Business Development.
"It's just a preview of what’s to come."