One of my good friends and I got into a debate on whether the use of the autotune was a hindrance or a benefit to the music scene, more specifically rap. After Kanye exploded with his album and the heavy use of autotune, everybody seemed to jump on board and capitalize on it. People from Lil Wayne, Yung Berg, Ron Browz to name a few. Being an avid complainer of T-Pain and how every song just gets annoying by the fact that he constantly relies on his autotune, I figured that it hurts the game more than helps it. I was wondering what others thought on the matter.
Autotune/Vocoder
- Thread starter Carter121
- Start date
It definitely hurts rap music. It's ok to use it during the hook (I really don't want to hear Weezy's actual singing voice) but to use it on a whole verse or song is stupid. Overusing it makes songs sound like shit. My first piece of evidence is T-Pain. He is a talentless piece of shit and the only reason he sells records is because of the vocoder. My second piece of evidence is Kanye West's last album. The album flat out sucked. I'm not exactly sure why he thought it would be a good idea to use the vocoder on an entire album, but it was a horrible idea.
Personally, I absolutely despise the use of autotune. It's lazy and sounds like total shit, every single time, without fail. I will never understand why people enjoy the autotune effect, it's almost as annoying as that incredibly high pitched tweety bird voice that some rap songs have used, Akon especially if I remember correctly.
Man, that last Kanye album was fucking awful...the absolute height of pretentious overindulgence.
Man, that last Kanye album was fucking awful...the absolute height of pretentious overindulgence.
I can't stand Autotune as it disgraces the legacy of the rap game that rappers like 2Pac, Biggie & NWA brought to it. It's one thing to use during a hook & I mean using it in a hook only once(i'm kinda scared to know what Lil Wayne's actual singing voice sound like), but using it on a whole verse or even worse a whole song is just flat out stupid as it comes off as a lazy effort.
Let's use a little piece of evidence here as I have 2 prime examples of why Autotune/Vocoder does not work.
1. T-Pain: He is a talentless piece of shit & from what my conclusion comes to is that the only reason as to why his records even sell is cause of the use of the damn Autotune/Vocoder. I personally would like to see what his record sells would be if he weren't using Autotune, but then again I don't wanna hear how terrible his actual singing voice really is.
2. Kanye West: If any of y'all either have his latest album or have heard some songs off of his latest album then y'all will know exactly why Autotune doesn't work. I'm not sure what the hell he was truly thinking when he decided to use this, but it proved to be a horrible idea as his entire album was flat out atrocious.
Let's use a little piece of evidence here as I have 2 prime examples of why Autotune/Vocoder does not work.
1. T-Pain: He is a talentless piece of shit & from what my conclusion comes to is that the only reason as to why his records even sell is cause of the use of the damn Autotune/Vocoder. I personally would like to see what his record sells would be if he weren't using Autotune, but then again I don't wanna hear how terrible his actual singing voice really is.
2. Kanye West: If any of y'all either have his latest album or have heard some songs off of his latest album then y'all will know exactly why Autotune doesn't work. I'm not sure what the hell he was truly thinking when he decided to use this, but it proved to be a horrible idea as his entire album was flat out atrocious.
Ty Burna
Getting Noticed By Management
Rant upcoming, this is your warning:
I fucking cannot stand that autotune bullshit and it makes cotton candy bullshit rappers and singers sound even worse than they were already. Seriously, how in the fuck can you be in the music game, especially hip hop, if your voice and singing is so terrible, that you need a device to help you make it sound somewhat respectable. Wayne never needed it when he was younger, and he sounded fine, he was a decent rapper. Now with this autotune shit, he sounds like a robot trying to mumble its way through a song. T-Pain is absolutely horrible with the autotune, and even worse without it.
Autotune is the worst creation for music possible, and now its fucking up the rap game. Kanye didn't need it when he came out, now he can't do anything without having to use it, Wayne's the same way, and T-Pain, well wouldn't be anything without it. What's wrong with having that raw sound that has been in hip hop for so long? Shit if it's that easy to make it big by using autotune, I think any of us could make a shit song, use autotune for our voice and all of a sudden its a "great" song. Fuck that, I grew up on the old school hip hop. Now take a look at Eazy E, he wasn't the best rapper, in fact he wasn't that good at all. But he made up for his lack of ability by putting together great stories and he had just enough on the mic to keep your interest. He made up for his shortcomings by focusing on his strengths. Nowadays you throw on autotune and it doesn't matter what your lyrics are as long as the song can be played at a club. The true essence of hip hop is dying day by day as more cotton candy rappers keep coming out and parading around their club songs like they actually mean something.
This is going off on a bit of a tangent here, but fuck it, we discussing the degrading state of hip hop so this is relevant. All these new so called "rappers" coming into the game like Soulja Boy and rappers who been in the game who sold out like Wayne, have no respect for the hip hop legends of the past. If I was in the rap game and was making it big, and Ice T came to me and tried giving me advice, shit you know I would be listening. He's been there, done that and he's a legend. But no, Soulja Boy just talks shit right to Ice T and basically spits in the face of a hip hop legend. Wayne thinks that 2pac was shit, and for whatever dumb fuck reasoning he has in the area of his head that we believe may hold a brain like substance, he considers himself the best rapper ever. What happened to true lyrical ability on the mic? You look at hip hop greats like KRS One for example, and compared to the new age of hip hop, they can rhyme circles around these motherfuckers coming out. The core parts of hip hop such as lyrical ability and storytelling are fading away. Now this isn't to say that they're not completely dead, the underground hip hop artists are holding them strong, but the mainstream has become nothing but another division of pop music. Autotune is just speeding up that decay of hip hop. This has gotten to the point that myself, a very outspoken critic of 50 Cent, has preferred listening to 50's bullshit than listening to Wayne or Kanye. Why? Because at least 50 does his shit his way and doesn't rely on the use of technology to make him sound better than he actually is.
Autotune is basically the prime evil in my opinion that has spread through hip hop like a plague, and every song by any artist that uses it drives me fucking insane. If I wanted to listen to an electronic voice, I'll go listen to techno or trance, at least there it fits in with the music. But with hip hop, you need to have a right voice in order to make the music. If you're flat as hell and can't harmonize your voice with the music or make it gritty enough to flow to the harder beats, than why are you in the rap game to begin with? Stay the fuck out of hip hop and go make your wack ass pop songs parading around like they're true hip hop tracks. I'm tired of hearing robot voices whenever I go to a bar or club and want some true legitimate hip hop to listen to. At the very least can we not put these shit songs in the category they belong in instead of dragging the name of hip hop through the mud with the music they are creating?
My apologizes for this long rant, but fuck man this autotune shit pisses me off so bad that this deserved a rant of this size. You know some hip hop artists do some singing or harmonizing in their music, and that's fine, I enjoy that shit. But that involves actual skill than going out and hooking a device up and transmitting a voice through it to turn shit singing into supposedly amazing singing. And if you have to rely on autotune, well how good of an artist do you think you really are that you need an electronic device in order to make your shit sound good?
I fucking cannot stand that autotune bullshit and it makes cotton candy bullshit rappers and singers sound even worse than they were already. Seriously, how in the fuck can you be in the music game, especially hip hop, if your voice and singing is so terrible, that you need a device to help you make it sound somewhat respectable. Wayne never needed it when he was younger, and he sounded fine, he was a decent rapper. Now with this autotune shit, he sounds like a robot trying to mumble its way through a song. T-Pain is absolutely horrible with the autotune, and even worse without it.
Autotune is the worst creation for music possible, and now its fucking up the rap game. Kanye didn't need it when he came out, now he can't do anything without having to use it, Wayne's the same way, and T-Pain, well wouldn't be anything without it. What's wrong with having that raw sound that has been in hip hop for so long? Shit if it's that easy to make it big by using autotune, I think any of us could make a shit song, use autotune for our voice and all of a sudden its a "great" song. Fuck that, I grew up on the old school hip hop. Now take a look at Eazy E, he wasn't the best rapper, in fact he wasn't that good at all. But he made up for his lack of ability by putting together great stories and he had just enough on the mic to keep your interest. He made up for his shortcomings by focusing on his strengths. Nowadays you throw on autotune and it doesn't matter what your lyrics are as long as the song can be played at a club. The true essence of hip hop is dying day by day as more cotton candy rappers keep coming out and parading around their club songs like they actually mean something.
This is going off on a bit of a tangent here, but fuck it, we discussing the degrading state of hip hop so this is relevant. All these new so called "rappers" coming into the game like Soulja Boy and rappers who been in the game who sold out like Wayne, have no respect for the hip hop legends of the past. If I was in the rap game and was making it big, and Ice T came to me and tried giving me advice, shit you know I would be listening. He's been there, done that and he's a legend. But no, Soulja Boy just talks shit right to Ice T and basically spits in the face of a hip hop legend. Wayne thinks that 2pac was shit, and for whatever dumb fuck reasoning he has in the area of his head that we believe may hold a brain like substance, he considers himself the best rapper ever. What happened to true lyrical ability on the mic? You look at hip hop greats like KRS One for example, and compared to the new age of hip hop, they can rhyme circles around these motherfuckers coming out. The core parts of hip hop such as lyrical ability and storytelling are fading away. Now this isn't to say that they're not completely dead, the underground hip hop artists are holding them strong, but the mainstream has become nothing but another division of pop music. Autotune is just speeding up that decay of hip hop. This has gotten to the point that myself, a very outspoken critic of 50 Cent, has preferred listening to 50's bullshit than listening to Wayne or Kanye. Why? Because at least 50 does his shit his way and doesn't rely on the use of technology to make him sound better than he actually is.
Autotune is basically the prime evil in my opinion that has spread through hip hop like a plague, and every song by any artist that uses it drives me fucking insane. If I wanted to listen to an electronic voice, I'll go listen to techno or trance, at least there it fits in with the music. But with hip hop, you need to have a right voice in order to make the music. If you're flat as hell and can't harmonize your voice with the music or make it gritty enough to flow to the harder beats, than why are you in the rap game to begin with? Stay the fuck out of hip hop and go make your wack ass pop songs parading around like they're true hip hop tracks. I'm tired of hearing robot voices whenever I go to a bar or club and want some true legitimate hip hop to listen to. At the very least can we not put these shit songs in the category they belong in instead of dragging the name of hip hop through the mud with the music they are creating?
My apologizes for this long rant, but fuck man this autotune shit pisses me off so bad that this deserved a rant of this size. You know some hip hop artists do some singing or harmonizing in their music, and that's fine, I enjoy that shit. But that involves actual skill than going out and hooking a device up and transmitting a voice through it to turn shit singing into supposedly amazing singing. And if you have to rely on autotune, well how good of an artist do you think you really are that you need an electronic device in order to make your shit sound good?
Barbedwire Ropes
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
But you guys have to remember that the Vocoder can also be used to help enhance a song's musical creativity. Now, I am not a rap fan but have heard the songs/artists mentioned and I totally agree that the autotune programs really do hurt hip hop music. It tricks people into believing that people like Kanye West and T-Pain actually have talent, when in fact the truth couldnt be anymore far off.
On the other hand, bands like Cynic use the vocoder to enhance their musical output. The best example of a Vocoder being put to good use in on Cynic's latest album "Traced In Air". Check out and see what I mean.
On the other hand, bands like Cynic use the vocoder to enhance their musical output. The best example of a Vocoder being put to good use in on Cynic's latest album "Traced In Air". Check out and see what I mean.
Razor Blade Dream
The Thread Killah
I honest to God cannot distinguish what songs are what anymore because of the Vocoder. I listen to the radio sometimes if my iPod is dead or I left it at home and every song is the fuckin same. The only way I can tell a Kanye song if he is guest spotting or whatever is the way he pronounces like 95% of his words. He has a distinct way of pronunciation and it still is heard through the Vocoder.
Wavy Crockett
Been pimping since been pimping...
I don't really mind it unless I hear T-Pain using it. Just something about a fat loudmouth with dreads on every hook that pisses me off. All I gotta say is thank god DJ Khaled hasnt discovered Autotune yet. He's already a damn fool (In a bad way).
