Jay-Z recently made headlines and sparked plenty of debate with his latest release "D.OA.(Death of Auto-tune." Like "Dre Day", "Hit 'em up", "Hip Hop is Dead" and the "Nigger album"( later changed to Untitled) the title of of the track and the weight it carried attracted listeners to put on their head phones and listen to a eulogy for the slain Auto-tune. Jay has a cult of admirers, and when he talks his followers cling to his every word. I've never been a huge Jay-Z fan my self, but I do respect him and have heard some of the best verses written from the self proclaimed "Jordan of Rap". The track was also produced by NO I.D., a legendary Chi Town producer that is responsible for some of Common's (Ressurection) best and earlier work. So when I read the title of the song, I pictured the Auto-tune machine smashed to bits in a casket with Lil Wayne, Kanye West and T-pain somberly standing over its corpse with tears in their eyes. I figured once Jay set his sites on the the popular voice modulator, there would be nothing left of it but memories of the Frankenstein that T-pain universalized. Luckily for it's supporters, Jay's barely scarred the monster.
The best comparison I can draw with this song is Nas's "Hip Hop is Dead". I bumped that album for months and really didn't have too many gripes with it. My only problem was that the album fell short of the concept. The title beckoned Hip Hop purest, but didn't quite carry the weight. "D.O.A." suffers the same consequences. I like the song, I mean its ok, but Jay did not make his point. I expected the song to focus on the heavy trend, the over saturation of the of its use, the lack of talent behind some of its users.(T-Wayne is the exception, sorry Kanye.) But instead it was just a Jay-Z song with a catchy title. Sure, he mentioned a couple things about it, but I got more of his opinion during his interviews in the aftermath of the release than I did from the song. Jay is talented enough to state assessments in his verses, but he failed to achieve his goal on this track.
When shock titles like this truly live up to the hype it's a beautiful thing. Nas' "Untitled " was the most recent example that reached that pinnacle. Sure, Auto-tune can be annoying, but what makes this different from every other trend that Hip Hop has created then later on overused?(Drugs and Money anyone?) I didn't look at the falsely proclaimed death of Auto-tune and rejoice, but I was interested to see how Jay managed to take out such a beloved entity. "D.O.A." reminds me of one of those old Bond movies. Where the villain is positive he has James Bond in a situation that can lead to nothing more than death, but prematurely leaves Bond alive believing that his demise is certain-----sound familiar?
I completely agree with you on this one. But saying you were never a huge Jay-z fan, come on Mansa.. I remember spitting sunflower seeds in the chair next to you during the Jay-z-a-thon's.. I think it gives you more credibility if you admitted you were once a Jay-z fan, and that you are disappointed how he fell off.. but it's not my blog..
ReplyDelete-nick
Im in the same boat as you when you say your not a big hova fan. Dude has his gems but on this one seemed like a PR move (like you said with interviews & post release talk) This was definitely a book with a shiny cover and lack of content inside. Good to read some hip hop talk from an Oakland cat.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I just found this dude; I think he's from Italy not bad Fabio Musta. He's doin shit with Guilty Simpson. Fabio Musta - Across the map, -Feel It Ft. Guilty Simpson.
ReplyDeleteJay-z is wack. He is a king by defualt and the reason hip hop is dead. The lil waynes and games and the rest of these skinny jeans wearing mohawk creeps are influenced by joe camel the most. Long live Don Killilluminati. Obama, Oprah, Jayz. Nuff said.
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