Topical Blog Post #2

The Auto-Tune Trend in the Music Industry

Using the Auto-Tuner is a recent trend in the music industry. The Auto-Tune effect is the robotic voice sound that changes the pitch of a singer or rapper’s tone. This voice pitch magic was first used in the 80’s, by rock star Peter Gabriel and then by funk legends Roger and Zapp. Recently, Tallahassee R&B singer T-Pain has made millions of dollars off this simple studio effect. Listening to the new Kanye West album, “808’s and Heartbreak”, I noticed the rapper jumped on the Auto-Tune bandwagon as well. On the album, West used the Auto-Tune on every track and sung every lyric. Surprisingly, the rapper opted to sing all tracks, not rapping at all. This is disheartening to hear one of Hip Hop’s most creative and promising stars following a Pop trend.

Many Hip Hop artists have ventured into the Auto-Tune world as well, including Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Akon, Rick Ross, and 50 Cent. This trend is a lack of creativity. The Auto-Tune effect distracts the listener from the lyrics, allowing artists to create lyrics without relevance or substance. Unfortunately people will still listen to this type of music because it sounds interesting due to the Auto-Tune. These artists sound like robots and have sold out to the industry to make a quick buck. Today’s average listener consumes large amounts of dance trendy Hip Hop and this auto-tune craze is the pinnacle of nonsense within the Hip Hop world. 

Yet, there is hope within the Hip Hop culture. There is a strong movement of conscious rap in the underground realms of Hip Hop. Artists such as Living Legends, Hieroglyphics, and Dilated Peoples promote music, which contains meaningful lyrics with soulful backdrops of beats, something, Kanye used to do as well. I am eagerly awaiting the day the Auto-Tune trend is over and we can return to restoring the heart of Hip Hop.