It seems like everyone has been guilty these days.
The crime, known as auto-tuner, makes use of a phase vocoder to correct pitch in vocal and instrumental performances. From Kanye West and T-Pain to Lil Wayne and Chris Brown, the tragic trend of auto-tuner seems to have plagued the hip-hop community, or what's left of it.
For starters, there's a difference between a straight auto-tuner and vocoders. A vocoder is a type of synthesizer that converts spoken words into musical notes. Then there are talk-boxes that we hear from Roger Troutman in Zapp or Peter Frampton's "Do You Feel." Trust me: It takes way more talent to be able to do that.
Auto-tuner's primary purpose is to disguise inaccuracies and mistakes that allow artists to produce more accurately tuned recordings. I'm not sure whether it's worse that it's becoming a trend or that it's making money -- there doesn't seem to be a difference to the pro-tooled bandits.
The sounds are tasteful and snazzy for some but don't sit right with me. Sure, it's been around for a while. Even Britney Spears has gone nuts with it. But now it seems as though the auto-tuner has crossed over into unwelcoming terrain.
Thanks again, Cher.
It seems that the formula for a chart hit is to feature hip-hop's go-to guy, T-Pain (contemporary guru of auto-tuner). But with T-Pain racking up four songs in the top 10 of Billboards' Hot 100 in two weeks and more than nine appearances on Billboard's Rhythmic Top 10 chart, he has the credentials to back up his slippery vocals.
How hasn't the market become saturated?
The truth is it's because people are eating it up. Snoop Dogg's "Sexual Eruption," Kanye West's entire "808s & Heartbreak" album, and Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter III" are proof that the auto-tuner is an extremely contagious pandemic. Snoop backed his use for visual representations, though.
Listening to "The Good Life" with Kanye West and T-Pain was the first time I had experienced such a discounted crossover hit. Soon enough, ringmaster T-Pain started setting up camp everywhere. But that was only the beginning.
Statistics: Everyone's favorite rapper auto-tuned his "Lollipop," the number one most added at both crossover and urban radio formats. With "Tha Carter III," Lil Wayne went platinum twice after only two months of shelf life. The use of auto-tuner has become reckless and rampant.
In other words, profitable. That's supply and demand, I suppose.
There can't be a scapegoat to hip-hop's current downturn. You can point your finger at T-Pain, but realize it's happening everywhere. Current markets don't seem to see the difference between auto-tune and sampling. MTV has been and will be dominated by rap music for the next decade -- I'm calling it.
This is not to say the use of auto-tuner should be prohibited. Daft Punk's album "Discovery," Kylie Minogue's "X," and even Roger Troutman in Tupac and Dr. Dre's "California Love" are solid examples of utilizing auto-tuner tastefully.
Hip-hop's once rebellious fortitude has somehow slipped between our fingers and the bane of hip-hop has deplorably become popular. Though I understand contemporary rap's commercial appeal and prosperity, it's saddening that the success of these musicians is truly a reflection of self. I give T-Pain credit for the ability to come up with catchy hooks once in a while and harnessing something of his own style. That top hat sets him apart, I guess.
But the biggest pitfall of auto-tuner is that its uncreative commercial crossover appeal has jeopardized rap music's credibility. And to put it bluntly, the use of it comes off as lazy. Does it really enhance the performance or have any visual or cultural significance? Or does it provide an elementary outlet for the so-called acquired minds? Through any cultural lens, it should be possible to point out the frauds. I'm all for evening the playing field, but why give so much credit to those who have sneaked their way through the talent filter? As I see it, music production is traversing a troubling route. Someday I hope we can all look back at this bizarre phenomenon and scoff, while T-Pain is put away in a mansion, somewhere in "Wiscansin."