Death of Jay-Z’s influence
Wednesday, July 8th, 2009Jay-Z used his appearance at last month’s Summer Jam concert to perform the first single from his upcoming The Blueprint 3 album, “D.O.A (Death of Auto-Tune).” The beat is nice, particularly the improv jazz-style opening and squealing electric guitar hook, and hell, I suppose Jay’s many years of hit making give him the right to compare himself to Sinatra.
The song’s premise is dubious, however. By denouncing the robotic-sounding vocal effect that’s ubiquitous on hip-hop radio, Jay is clearly trying to stay ahead of the curve. But in the process he’s demonstrating how out of touch he’s become.
For starters, it’s clear that Auto-Tune isn’t going away just yet. Many folks have noted that Hot 97 — Summer Jam’s sponsor — was playing Auto-Tuned tracks within a half hour of “D.O.A.”’s debut. One of the song’s producers, Kanye West, is one of Auto-Tune’s biggest proponents, for chrissakes.
Still, there’s no doubt that Auto-Tune will die off eventually. As with disco and nu-metal, it will inspire a massive backlash and we’ll all get on with our lives. Personally, I’ll miss it; I’m a huge 808s & Heartbreak fan and think that, when used right, the effect can make a track bigger and more fun. I don’t think it’s a panacea for rap’s problems, but I strongly disagree with those people, like Jay, who maintain that it’s somehow harming the genre.
