Rest in peace, Auto-Tune. Just as the trend has reached its peak, Jay-Z has declared it dead. And who are we to argue?
“D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” is the first single from Jay-Z’s highly anticipated new opus, Blueprint 3, his first since leaving Def Jam Records.
The track, produced by No I.D. (the man who taught Kanye everything he knows about production), features a wild guitar riff and a blaring saxophone melody. The above version was performed at the 2009 BET Awards, with Jay-Z backed by his Roc Boys band (led by keyboardist Omar Edwards).
Right after the award show, the music video was released as well, and can be seen below.
Blueprint 3 will be released September 11, the 8-year anniversary of the original Blueprint.
Props to 3030FM for the BET Awards video.
He should’ve given Kanye, Lupe and all the other legit artist who still have auto-tuned songs on the radio at least a one month window to pull them from the airwaves.
Cool stuff! Love the sophisticated jazz feel to it (which makes the Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye interpolation a jarring contrast that sticks out like a sore thumb). Interesting how the live BET version seemed to deemphasize the guitar and makes the organ (Hammond B3?) more prominent.