NEWS
Anthony Fantano the music critic behind the YouTube channel, The Needle Drop. The channel has amassed over 3 million subscribers and each review of a popular artist sparks plenty of online discourse.
In the mid-2010s, Fantano ran a side channel called thatistheplan. There, he made surrealist, meme humor videos in a similar vein to other popular creators of the time. Those videos became the subject of an article by The Fader. In 2018, they published an article attempting to paint Fantano as a member of the alt-right in a defamatory manner, leading to Fantano pursuing legal action against the publication.
After, the two parties reached a settlement, and The Fader deleted the article. Now, clips from that era of Anthony Fantano's career are once again resurfacing. He addressed them in a new video uploaded to his self-titled second channel and X.
In the new video, Anthony Fantano mainly addresses two clips. The first is of him using the N-word and the F-slur. Fantano stated that he did not use the phrase to be offensive, and that he was quoting a different creator.
"Early on in my YouTube career, I had some pretty lax views when it came to quoting the language of others," he said in the video. "My point of view was 'what does it matter? It's not me saying it. I'm relaying a lyric or sentiment or point of view expressed by someone else.'" He admitted that quoting the other creator was "in bad form and unnecessary."
"All I can do is take ownership of having quoted these words in this way. And obviously say that I'm sorry. Which, I am, in fact, sorry about this," he said
The second clip circulating was one that caused people to suggest that he was laughing at the death of Trayvon Martin, the Black teenager who George Zimmerman fatally in 2012.
"The way this clip has been presented is a lie," he said. He also conceded that the clip did look bad. "It's been heavily edited, too. In this clip that you saw, I am reading a super chat that was sent by a viewer, and the reason I'm jumping into reading it, is partially it is a dig at me. It's not exactly a secret that I'm an openly liberal vegan." He then presented the clip without alterations, where Fantano calls one of the hosts a moron for mixing up Trayvon Martin with YouTuber Tre Melvin.
To conclude the video, he took a shot at DJ Akademiks. His AkademiksTV page (which fans operate but still falls under his umbrella) helped spread the clips. He said that he would not appear on platforms that present ideas he does not agree with.
"People might understandably think I endorse the idea of sexual conversations with underage boys, and I don't," he said, presenting a clip of the controversial personality verbally sexually harassing a young boy. "I'm gonna continue to do my best to make sure that I'm not sending across the wrong idea. Especially considering a lot of the music I review and endorse on a regular basis deals in some heavy and serious topics. Topics I would be completely in opposition to were I a bigoted weirdo."
NEWS
Massive Attack have been using their latest live show to challenge American data analytics and software company Palantir, with the band describing the firm's ambitions as "terrifying".
The pioneering trip hop group have woven criticism of the controversial surveillance technology company into their new stage production. During their upcoming performance at Primavera Sound, they plan to deploy "custom-made facial recognition software" capable of "scanning a 75,000-person crowd" and projecting audience members onto giant screens with tongue in cheek labels such as "11 weeks no time off, burnout" and "unfinished books", according to Novara Media.
Speaking with the publication, the visual concept takes direct aim at Palantir, the company established two decades ago by billionaire Peter Thiel. Backed financially by the CIA, the firm counts the US and Israeli militaries, ICE, the FBI and the NHS among its clients.
After unveiling the production in Helsinki, Robert Del Naja told Novara Media that he wanted audiences to better understand how Palantir's reach has expanded from supplying "kill chain tech" reportedly used in Gaza to now having access to the medical records of people across Britain.
"We really need a much wider debate on the suitability of a company like this having such capture of our societal infrastructure," he said. He explained that the criticism is embedded throughout Massive Attack's two hour performance and was developed alongside long time collaborator Adam Curtis and London art collective United Visual Artists.
"One visual element represents how a Palantir Gotham monitoring and ‘decision chain’ interface might look," Del Naja explained. "Using facial recognition technology, it lands on groups and individuals – implying a consequential outcome for a given target."
Novara Media also detailed how Palantir's software can connect information from multiple databases. The outlet reported that ICE allegedly combines the platform with body camera footage, social media data and information gathered through Israeli developed hacking software Paragon to identify protesters involved in resistance to immigration raids.
The publication further claimed that Palantir contributes to Maven, a software platform used by the US military, which has recently faced criticism after being linked to the bombing of a girls' school in Iran.
"I find their declarations, objectives and moral framing pretty terrifying," Del Naja said. "To enable AI systems to map police records, satellite tracked locations, health records and personal financial transactions and place all of that information – for the first time – into the hands of a company with an overt political agenda and social objectives of its own is a huge, potentially irreversible and dangerous overreach."
Another moment in Massive Attack's current live production appears during the closing section of "Girl I Love You", when a quote from Peter Thiel is projected on screen reading: "I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible".
Last year, Massive Attack introduced the satirical "facial recognition" sequence during their concerts and quickly rejected suggestions that genuine data recognition systems were being used on audiences.
"No Massive Attack live show has ever recorded or stored personal data," the group stated. "Only government departments, relevant authorities & approved contractors can access public databases in the UK, & doing so in multiple cities/countries would be impossible."
The band also pointed to the growing use of facial recognition technology across Britain, arguing that authorities are "overreaching almost all other western democracies with their use of public facial recognition … while there is no specific legislation regulating police use of these systems."
The statement arrived shortly after Massive Attack welcomed Kneecap onto the stage during their major show at the OVO Wembley Arena, introducing them as a group "who refused to be silenced for their solidarity with the Palestinian people."
Massive Attack have consistently spoken out in support of Palestine and a range of other progressive causes. More recently, they pledged to boycott Spotify following reports that CEO Daniel Ek had invested heavily "in a company producing military munition drones and AI technology integrated into fighter aircraft."
During their headline appearance at London's LIDO Festival last summer, the band were joined by actor and activist Khalid Abdalla along with Yasiin Bey, formerly known as Mos Def. Earlier this year, Del Naja also criticised what he described as a "draconian government" after being arrested while protesting the ban on Palestine Action.
The musician was one of hundreds of demonstrators who gathered in Trafalgar Square on April 11 to oppose the Palestine Action ban. He carried a placard stating "I Oppose Genocide, I Support Palestine Action".
Police removed him from the protest and arrested him on suspicion of expressing support for a proscribed organisation. He later responded with an extensive statement posted to Instagram.
Back in February, the band revealed a small run of European dates for the summer. The tour began on May 27 at Veikkaus Arena in Helsinki before continuing to Dalhalla in Rättvik on May 30.
The Bristol trip hop pioneers have not released new material since the 2020 EP "Eutopia". Their most recent studio album remains 2010's "Heligoland".
Speaking with NME in 2024, Robert Del Naja revealed that the band had "some new music which we've been sitting on for four years". He later shared in November that he hoped to finally release some of that material in 2026.
