The Death of Jay Z

Through his lead single “Death of Auto-tune” Rap’s divine MC Jay Z may have picked an effective strategy to create buzz and excitement about his upcoming Blueprint 3 album, however, I feel that failure to “kill” the use and popularity of the auto-tune on his part could mean instant mortality for the MC.
This is My Case for the Re-Birth of the Auto Tune
• The auto tune is the perfect tool in a highly competitive market; producers, musicians and record companies want to churn out as many hits as possible, as quickly as is musically possible. Why? In this highly competitive market, they don’t know how long they will remain at the top (can someone say Chamillionaire?). They have no time to tinker with their dials to create masterpieces; they simply let the auto tune take care of all their flaws.
• In the digital world, everyone is a producer, and we’re all capable of releasing our very own music hit; the digital world is now about the individual (and what the individual wants or thinks). It’s not about what Jay Z says (or thinks he says). Ultimately, it all boils down to the words of famous pop culture philosopher, Andy Warhol, “...everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame.” So, why should Jay Z hog all the shine? If a guy with no talent like T Pain can make it, then it means we all have a chance. Besides, thanks to technology, the world’s now everyone’s stage!
• The auto tune has helped far too many artists to succeed; Jay Z, though he may be the most influential hip hop musician alive, is only one man. The auto tune however, has added spice to the music industry and made tens of artists sound much nicer than they would’ve ever imagined. The combined appeal of all the artists who’ve benefited from the auto tune far outweighs that of Hov.
• The auto tune makes our ringtones sound better; the mobile phone is taking over the world of entertainment. The auto tune compliments the mobile phone (and digital technology) like the sequined glove did for Michael Jackson. At the moment, Jay Z’s looking like the dinosaur a couple of months before the great comet crashes into the earth. There’s absolutely no doubt that 40-something year old Sean Carter has been living on borrowed time and it looks like the auto tune’s about to give him his much deserved moment of silence. These are just some of the few reasons why Jay Z’s fighting a losing battle. There’s no doubt that Jay Z will outsell the irrelevant and talentless 50 Cent come September 11th (the 2 MC’s are having a head-to-head battle to see whose album will outsell the other after the 1st week of release), but should auto – tune inspired music continue to thrive (and in particular T Pain), then Jay Z will have probably signed his own death execution. And especially since that the battle between Jay Z and the Auto tune (read, T-Pain) is one that pits the establishment versus the new revolution; the old versus the young, the innovative versus the conservatives, the old guard versus the new kid on the block. As far as this writer is concerned, Jay Z should’ve stayed in retirement. The Blueprint 3 was a really bad idea. But hey, don’t take my word for it, I’m just a blogger. I think I’ve said enough for one blog entry; Na na, hey hey, goodbye...
Mojo Sojo