everyone was talking about "death of autotune" when it first came out. i decided not to at first but after listening to my ipod and wondering "whatever happened to..." after every other song i've realized some things... i like originality and substance. i enjoy swag and braggadocio, too. a small pocket of my brain likes misogynistic shit, too. (like i've said before "baby bend over" is one of my FAVORITE songs...) i don't like overtly sexual crap. i don't like people trying too hard to be different just for the sake of being different. i don't really like the souljah boy rap geared toward preteens but i'm not mad at it. i'm bored with stripper songs. i think i'm too young to be a true hip hop head but i love rap and r&b and i've been a lover since my dad bought my first walkman in 2nd grade. i, too, am frustrated by the turn the industry has taken.
however, having said all that, i don't think "death of autotune" is the right battle cry. instead, since he's jay z, he should be cultivating and nurturing the next generation's talent. i think he may need to actually retire. his big comeback doesn't need to be about how wack these young dudes are, it should be about passing the torch. he needs to put someone else on. and i'm not talking about Memphis Bleek. instead of killing autotune he should be praising those who use it well (obviously kanye. but t-pain, too, actually). hell... people are making money off autotune. whether jay z puts it on a record does not matter. there will always be a place for it.
and while tight jeans, bright colors, and songs made to be ringtones are somewhat annoying and make you miss "real hip hop," they'll always have a place, too. as far as souljah boy's songs about nothing that sound good... he's 17/18 and he didn't grow up in the streets. what is he supposed to rap about. is it right to say souljah boy is wack because he's not hard? dislike it all you want but music is moving in this direction and it's futile to fight it. this version of lil wayne isn't all that different from "mixtape weezy," as jay z differentiates. he's doing what he feels and making his musical progress. and you simply cannot knock someone's progress.
jay z likes to remind us that he's a multi millionaire. great. we know. maybe that's another reason you should bow out, do something different, pass the torch. i love jay z. no... you don't understand. i LOVE jay z. but i don't want something he's just doing for money. that's where kingdom come happens. i'm honestly not geeked about blueprint 3. will i listen? absolutely. will i rush to buy it... eh. we really don't need another blueprint. the first one was great and "the game" needed it. blueprint 2 sucked. why go for thirds? why not wait until you're truly inspired and wow us?
again, i love jay z. i'm truly a fan. i'm not hating or bashing him. but... "death of autotune" didn't make me all that happy. the beat is nice. he says some clever things but it really made me miss jay z, my favorite rapper, and wonder when jay z, the mogul is going to retire.
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