By Tanisha Shabazz
Of the Frontpage Milwaukee staff
July 4, 2009
Jay Z
Death of Autotune
Roc Nation/Atlantic Recording
Corporation
June 23, 2009
Rap
$1.99 USD
Jay Z’s new single, Death of Autotune is exactly what the
hip-hop community needs. The genre is in a state of crisis and Death of Autotune reiterates the true definition
of hip hop music. While I was growing up, it was almost impossible not to be
influenced by hip-hop music. As a former dancer I can tell you that the hip-hop
culture played a huge role in the art of dance and still does. The music should
be raw, unfiltered talent with quality lyrics over a hard base line. The lyrics
should tell a story and share a message. Death
of Autotune does just that and raises a great question. Is Hip hop getting
too soft?
For the last few years, Rap music
has been a combination of auto tune voices, synthesized beats and empty lyrics.
The desire to make a profit has created artists who digress from the true
meaning of hip-hop in an effort to commercialize. Jay’s new single calls for
the death of auto tune in order to bring hip hop back to its roots. Hip hop is
getting too soft, in fact it has been soft for quite some time. The lyrics in Death of Autotune call out the artists
who choose to make a profit over hip hop.
First
things first. Who is Jay Z and why does he think he can call other rappers
soft? Jay Z and his fans refer to him as “the best rapper alive,” and arguably
so. Since 1995, Jay Z has been a trend setter in the world of hip hop. His
lyrics tell the story about his life as a crack dealer. In the song, Izzo off of the Blueprint album, Jay
tells his fans not to sell drugs. He says, “Like I told you to sell drugs, no
Hov' did that so hopefully you won't have to go through that.” Jay continues
with, “I seen it all before. I seen hoop dreams deflate like a true fiends
weight.” This is an example of how Jay can share a message and still sell
records. He’s an established icon in the hip hop community. When he said death
to auto tune, the message had meaning.
It’s
no secret that every one of Jay Z’s songs is not deep. Songs like Can I get A
and Big Pimpin,’ aren’t about anything of substance. It’s your typical
mainstream rap song but this is rare. He has over 8 platinum albums and less
than half of his music is mainstream rap.
Death of Autotune is a continuation of what Jay Z
represents-real hip hop. The single has quality lyrics with a clear message. The
single was produced by Kanye West and No I.D. The beat is classic with a
soulful, American Gangster vibe. It takes the listener back to a post Vietnam
America with heroin addiction and crime. Jay’s voice is aggressive, emotion
filled, and not his traditional delivery. In the Death of Autotune, Jay uses a combination of his old calm, cool and
collected approach heard in the hook, “Na Na Na Na goodbye.” This is woven in
with versus in which Jay’s voice is aggressive, emotion filled and charged. On
most of Jay Z’s past songs he is known for a calmer delivery. The variety on
this track is something new for Jay, but works very well.
In this single, like many of Jay
Z’s other songs, the influence of Notorious B.I.G. is apparent. Jay uses Biggie’s
lyrics when he says, “Stop the blood clot cryin, the kids, the dog, everybody
dyin no lyin.” Many artists including Nas, argue that Jay Z is not a strong
lyricist because he quotes Notorious B.I.G. in many of his songs. I would argue
though, that Jay’s influence is rooted in the tradition of hip hop and he
attributes his success to the artists that came before him. All four elements
of hip hop give voice to the streets and Jay is paying respect to a close
friend who also happens to be a highly respected artist in the hip hop
community.
Anyone who knows anything about
Jay Z knows he doesn’t write his lyrics down and he records every track in one
take. Technically I can’t say the lyrics were well written, but they were
definitely well thought out. In
the single he says, “I know we facin a recession but the music yall make gonna
make it the great depression,” and later, “You singing too much, get back to
rappin you T-painin too much.” He is
saying that auto
tune has made it difficult to separate a quality lyricist with a message such
as Talib Kweli from someone clearly trying to sell a record like T-Pain with
songs like, “I like the bartender.” The
song is a call to action, forcing listeners to re-evaluate what they call
hip-hop.
The technical aspects of the song
did not include an auto tune voice over. Autotune
is the first single off of Jay’s album, The Blue Print 3. Some argue that the
single is hypocritical because Kanye is one of the producers and recently
released 808’s and heartbreak, an album with auto tune on every song. Kanye West has stated there will be no auto
tune on Jay Z’s album, scheduled for release September 11.
Overall, the single is great for
those who want to reconnect with real hip hop. Presently, mainstream hip-hop is
too soft. The lyrics fail to ask difficult questions and fail to share
knowledge or a message. It is too early to predict, but Death to Autotune may be the beginning of a shift back to the roots
of hip-hop. If The Blue Print 3 is anything like the single hip-hop fans
looking for substance will find their fix.