Brooklyn Murders Auto-Tune

I know I already ranted about Auto-Tune in an earlier post. The overused vocal effect has dominated hip hop music for the past couple of years, giving the tone deaf the courage to "sing" instead of rap. Well it seems like the tide is finally turning and here are a couple of examples from just this past week.

First, Jay-Z released his new single, D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune). The beats and backing track are nothing to write home about, but the lyrics provide a biting critique of the Auto-Tune abusers. Like he says, "this is assault with a deadly weapon." Let's hope he just killed some short-lived careers. I also have to mention that Pitchfork wrote that with this song, Jay-Z has officially joined the Grumpy Old Rappers Club. Sometimes the hipsters over at Pitchfork confuse the "new shit" for plain old shit...


Then there's Mos Def and his performance on Letterman this past Monday night. He keeps it simple, and soulful without singing a note. I've gotta believe that this brand of hip hop will make a comeback...