Capitol Records "severs ties" with virtual rapper FN Meka

A virtual rapper is out at Capitol Records just two weeks after being signed by the label.

FN Meka was touted earlier this month as the world's "first AR artist" to sign with a major music label, but a flood of criticism soon followed on social media. 

There was criticism that the virtual character was offensive to black artists, using the N-word frequently in song lyrics and posting an image on Instagram of him being beaten by a police officer. An industry group of Black artists said the character was a "direct insult" to the Black community and culture, and described as an "amalgamation of gross stereotypes, appropriative mannerisms that derive from Black artists, complete with slurs infused in lyrics."

"This digital effigy is a careless abomination and disrespectful to real people who face real consequences in real life," Industry Blackout said in a statement posted to Instagram.

Capitol Music Group released a statement this week, saying it has "severed ties with the FN Meka Project," calling its decision to sign the virtual rapper "insensitive."

FN Meka's page on the Capitol Records has been scrubbed, and the character's Instagram account has been made private. However, the virtual rapper remains a verified artist on Spotify, where he has more than 600,000 monthly listeners, and on TikTok, where he has more than 10 million followers.