Animated rapper FN Meka dropped from Capitol Records

Michaela Zee editor Spectrum Originals has released the official trailer for the crime dramedy series “Panhandle.” The release date of the series’ first two episodes on Spectrum is Sept. 26. The eight-episode series follows armchair detective Bell Prescott (Luke Kirby) and traffic cop Cammie Lorde (Tiana Okoye) as they investigate a murder in their small Florida town. Along with Kirby and Okoye, the series stars Forrest Goodluck, Lorenza Izzo, Wallace Smith, Glenn Morshower and Lesley Ann Warren. Recurring guest stars include Melanie Minichino, Landon Chase DuBois, Mo Gallini, David De Vries, Deja Dee, Paulina Gálvez, Scott Takeda and Grant Freely.

Saucy Santana is seeking to keep the viral momentum alive with a new solo single called "I'm Too Much." The Florida rapper debuted the song during an appearance at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards. It arrives via RCA, and you can hear it below.

With its crystal blue sea, art deco buildings and palm tree lined streets, it’s no surprise that Miami is the Hollywood of the East Coast. From the Beckhams’ enjoying some downtime on their sprawling superyacht to Kim Kardashian and co taking in the sights from their seafront hotel, the sun-kissed paradise is ideal for anyone looking to do a slice of celebrity spotting.

News 9 WAOW, Pacholke’s death was due to suicide. In a statement, the station expressed that its staff is “devastated” by the loss.“Neena loved this community and the people who lived here. She was a kind person with a big heart and a contagious smile and we will miss her greatly,” the statement read.Pacholke began her career at News 9 in 2017 after she graduated from the University of South Florida.

Carson Burton Ralph Eggleston, an Academy Award-winning animator, art director and production designer at Pixar Animation Studios, died on Monday after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 56 years old. Eggleston won the animated short film Oscar for writing and directing the 2001 Pixar film “For the Birds.” Pixar tweeted a tribute to him, saying, “Pixar and the world will be forever grateful.”In memory of Ralph Eggleston—animator, director, art director, storyboard artist, writer, production designer, and our dear friend. Pixar and the world will be forever grateful. ❤ pic.twitter.com/YzZACENcZw The animator also served as art director on the original “Toy Story,” and his work as an artist has been seen on numerous Pixar films including “Monsters, Inc.,” “Finding Nemo,” “Wall-E,” “Cars,” “The Incredibles” and “Inside Out.” His final credited work was in 2020’s “Soul,” where he served as a development artist within the art department.

Glass Animals frontman Dave Bayley spoke to NME backstage at Reading Festival 2022 about the “unbelievable” experience of working on Florence + The Machine‘s fifth album, ‘Dance Fever’. Watch our full video interview above.In April the pair released an electronica-inspired remix of Welch’s recent single, ‘My Love’. Bayley co-wrote and co-produced the original track and worked on the ensuing ‘Dance Fever’ along with Jack Antonoff.

The man who previously spoke up for the controversial FN Meka project – Anthony Martini – has announced that he is no longer involved with the ‘virtual’ rapper or the company behind it, Factory New.Following the accusations of racism that were made against the project – which resulted in the rapper being dropped by Universal Music’s Capitol label earlier this week – he says that he “should have done more diligence before joining” the venture, and also admits that there was much less AI involved in the creation of the virtual rapper and it’s musical output than previously claimed.Although previously named as a co-founder, Martini says that he joined Factory New in 2020, after the release of the first two FN Meka singles, ‘Moonwalkin’ and ‘Internet’.He also claims that he only learned this week that Kyle The Hooligan, the rapper who voiced those tracks and seemingly wrote their lyrics, had been cut out of the project, insisting that “while I was involved, artists on the project were always compensated fairly and participated in the revenue from their work”.Capitol announced that it had signed FN Meka earlier this month, releasing the single ‘Florida Water’, featuring Gunna.

AI star FN Meka and in turn has accused Capitol Records of ghosting him after he was promised equity in the label.Kyle The Hooligan has posted notes and videos in which he claims that the Universal-owned label have left him “high and dry” and shared information that purports to prove that he is the formerly unknown voice behind the viral robot rapper.FN Meka, made in collaboration with Factory New, was dropped by Capitol less than a fortnight after launching after its critics highlighted the way the project trivialised elements of Black culture and used them for shock value. The label alluded to this in a formal apology shared online earlier this week by The New York Times’ Joe Coscarelli.Meka was marketed as the “world’s first” AI rapper to sign to a major label, with Ryan Ruden, Capitol Music Group’s executive vice president of experiential marketing and business development, saying that the project “meets at the intersection of music, technology and gaming culture” and “is just a preview of what’s to come”.Capitol released its first FN Meka single, ‘Florida Water’, on August 12, which featured guest vocals from real life rapper Gunna and ancillary involvement from gaming streamer Clix.But controversy followed when Meka, who’d garnered more than 10million TikTok followers, was seen to use the N word and appeared to make light of police brutality.

The artist who voiced controversial ‘virtual’ rapper FN Meka has denied claims that he has been leading the project, adding that he has been cut out of the financial gains the company behind the venture, Factory Now, has made.Previously anonymous, rapper Kyle The Hooligan came forward as the voice of FN Meka yesterday, after Universal’s Capitol label severed ties with the project following accusations of racism.“They came to me with this AI shit and was like would I want to be the voice of it, and I thought it was going to be some collaboration”, he said in a video on Instagram. “They promised me equity in the company, percentages, all this stuff, so I’m thinking, ‘OK, this about to be some collab, something different for me, so I can do my music and do some AI stuff with this FN Meka character”.Capitol announced that it had signed FN Meka earlier this month, releasing a single, ‘Florida Water’, featuring Gunna.

It only could have ended this way. On Tuesday, August 23, I began kicking around ideas for an op-ed on FN Meka, the virtual-reality rapper created by Factory Now who has drawn attention for the use of A.I. in creating its music.

WHITE MUSIC EXECS LEFT IN A ROOM, UNSUPERVISED:let's create an artificial rapper who says the n word & simulates our deepest fetishes & fantasies about blackness & materialism & he will never get arrested unless we want him to which is a fun storyline let's try that pic.twitter.com/9nDdqXdpbw“We find fault in the lack of awareness in how offensive this caricature is,” music non-profit Industry Blackout wrote on Tuesday. “It is a direct insult to the black community and our culture.

The Hollywood Reporter. “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.”The news comes just hours after activist group Industry Blackout, which represents a unified body of Black industry members, called out Capitol Records on social media for partnering with the AI known as FN Meka, noting that the project “amalgamation of gross stereotypes [and] appropriative mannerisms that derive from Black artists, complete with slurs infused in lyrics.”Industry Blackout also described the partnership as a “direct insult to the Black community and our culture” that is “unacceptable” and “will not be tolerated.”Created by Anthony Martini and Brandon Le, FN Meka’s partnership with Capitol Records represented the studio’s first major deal with a virtual artist. FN Meka released the single “Florida Water,” which featured Gunna and gaming streamer Clix.The group demanded that the partnership be terminated, a public apology be issued and that FN Meka be removed from all platforms.

announced the “signing” of FN Meka – a virtual “robot rapper” launched by creative start-up Factory New – the Universal-owned label has shared a statement confirming it has “severed ties” with the project.Capitol Music Group announced their partnership with Factory New on August 12, with Ryan Ruden – the company’s executive vice president of experiential marketing and business development – saying the FN Meka project “meets at the intersection of music, technology and gaming culture” and “is just a preview of what’s to come”.The same day, Capitol released its first FN Meka single, ‘Florida Water’, which featured guest vocals from (real life) rapper Gunna and ancillary involvement from gaming streamer Clix. Though vocals credited to FN Meka were performed by a real human being (the identity of whom is currently unknown), the lyrics were reportedly generated by an AI-powered algorithm.Shortly after the song was released and the “signing” made public, Capitol faced backlash over its involvement with the project.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Not long after announcing that the label had signed a computer-generated rapper dubbed FN Meka, Capitol Music Group announced that it is severing ties with the project. The move Tuesday came after Capitol came under fire from activists pointing out that the music perpetuated Black tropes and included the repeated use of the N-word but was actually the work of a non-Black creative team. “CMG has severed ties with the FN Meka project, effective immediately,” the label group said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon. “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.”

Thania Garcia Republic Records has launched a kids and family division, spearheaded by the appointment of Bree Bowles as VP of marketing and strategy. The new expansion is focused on signing, developing, and releasing family-friendly projects, with additional “major partnerships to be unveiled very soon,” according to the announcement.Prior to her stint with Republic Records, Bowles worked at Brooklyn Bowl founder Pete Shapiro’s Dayglo Presents where she oversaw marketing and operations.

As part of a seemingly off-the-cuff tweet thread Tuesday night, Tesla founder and erstwhile Twitter suitor Elon Musk set off alarm bells in the footie world, saying, “I’m buying Manchester United.”

TikTok and more than a billion views on the platform, has inked a deal with Capitol RecordsThe new signing was reported by Music Business Worldwide last week, the same day FN Meka dropped his first single for the label: a song called ‘Florida Water’ that also features (real life) rapper Gunna and gaming streamer Clix. It was produced by Turbo, whose past credits have included songs with Travis Scott, Young Thug and Lil Baby.On the song, FN delivers verses like, “Tesla, Gucci, Cybertruck / I wreck that shit, don’t give a fuck.” Though the vocals are performed by a real human being, those lyrics have apparently been generated by AI, according to its creators.

WARNING: Spoilers ahead for the series finale of “Better Call Saul.”“Better Call Saul” ended its six-season odyssey with Jimmy/Saul/Gene (Bob Odenkirk) sentenced to 86 years in federal prison, where he bid an emotional goodbye to ex-wife Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) — but not before exonerating her, in a final colorful courtroom flourish, of any wrongdoing in covering up Howard Hamlin’s execution-style death several years earlier.“I saw the [finale] for the first time Monday night,” Seehorn told The Post Tuesday. “I watched it with a couple of people from the show and loved ones and significant partners and it was very moving.”Monday night’s finale, “Saul Gone,” included scenes from all three timelines in the “Better Call Saul” universe and featured surprise appearances from Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt) — the widowed wife of “Breaking Bad” DEA agent Hank Schrader (Dean Norris) — and, in a flashback, Chuck McGill (Michael McKean), Jimmy’s brilliant-yet-troubled older brother who killed himself in the Season 3 finale of “Better Call Saul.” Walter White (Bryan Cranston) also materialized in a “Breaking Bad” flashback.The episode turned its main focus on Saul’s shattered relationship with Kim, now living a drab, boring life in central Florida designing brochures for a sprinkler company and sporting shorter (and dark) hair.