Jay-Z Compares Auto-Tuning Rappers to Hair Metal Bands, Inadvertently Starts Fun New Game

October 28, 2009 12:35 p.m. by Andrew Winistorfer

Jay-Z is still fighting his noble (but way too late) battle against Auto-Tuning: in a recent interview, this is what he had to say:

“I really wanted to have the conversation, like ‘are we just going to sound like each other? Everyone’s going to sound the same? That’s what we’re gonna do? Don’t ya’ll know this is dangerous? And this is just how rock and roll got pushed from the forefront?’ We did this to rock and roll. Everyone was doing the hair-band thing on MTV with the tight pants. They all had the big hair, just different colored tights. It just became about more of a look and a sound than the emotion of the music. And that’s what hip-hop’s becoming. It’s losing the emotion — you can’t have emotion in the robotic voice. I can’t feel anything!"

In fairness, are you really supposed to "feel" anything when listening to T-Pain. That's not the point with him, really. Jay-Z may be right in his above statement (except in the part about rap killing hair metal, because we all know that was the dual horsemen of Nirvana and Nelson who killed it), but I'm more interested in stretching his comparison to the max by lining up hair metal bands with Auto-Tune rappers. Here it goes:

T-Pain = Motley Crue: Both were the first big groups of both genres that anyone took semi-seriously. Also, both love stupid hatwear.

Ron Browz = Warrant: Who? Exactly.

Lil Wayne = WASP: No one knows what to make of either of them. And you wouldn't want to share a tour bus with them either (WASP for...whatever WASP got into, Lil Wayne for the gun charges).

Kanye West = Unmasked KISS: Both had careers pre- dumb genre, both were better at their new genres than the people who "started" them. (I'm really stretching here. Kanye probably doesn't count.)

Drake = Poison: The girls like them both, and both will likely be remembered, when all is said and done, for their TV work (Drake in Degrassi, Bret Michaels in Rock of Love Bus).

You guys got any? [via Idolator]

Posted in: JAY-Z , T-PAIN

4 Responses

October 28, 2009 at 5:08 p.m.

jack daniels

Your insights are almost as bad as your writing. How did this even get through? Jay-Z isn't comparing rock & roll and rap/hip-hop, he was just saying that it's a cycle and this sort of thing has happened before. Not to mention that your little point about T-Pain and not 'feeling' anything, just proves what Jay-Z is saying. T-Pain's ish should make you feel something, it shouldn't just be about sounding cool.

October 28, 2009 at 6:12 p.m.

NumberOneDad

Gucci Mane = Firehouse: Mane's debut album was named "Trap House" and Firehouse's was named "Firehouse," both prominently featuring the word "house."

October 29, 2009 at 12:29 a.m.

andross

Nice work B-Money. Nice work indeed.

November 5, 2009 at 10:34 a.m.

andre

It's a serious point - and a very valid one. Instead of being cute and ironic ("I'm more interested in stretching his comparison to the max by lining up hair metal bands with Auto-Tune rappers"), the author of this posting should have thought about it a little deeper. Jay Z's main point was that most of mainstream rap has begun to sound the same, which spells the death of a genre. You see, hip hop used to cool: check out Paul's Boutique, Follow the Leader, Labcabincalifornia for example.

Heavy Metal, before record companies realized power ballads sell loads of copies, was also a cool genre. Ok - I know: the spandex pants, the scary lyrics were often corny. But early Iron Maiden and Motorhead had the same musical hardness as punk: the music had balls. These bands inspired Metallica. And think what you want of Metallice, but they've got nothing in common with Poison, Cinderalla, Bon Jovi etc. Metallica distinguished themselves from those cornball bands because Lars and James grew up listening to the same early, mostly British heavy metal. But then it became a watered-down genre; it all sounded alike and it was all pretty weak.

Hip hop also used to have balls: listen to Eric B & Rakim's "Musical Massacre" or "Know the Ledge." That's why it's sad that hip hop is so corny right now. Every rapper auto-tuned, lyrics about da club, da rims on da ride, rap verses in syrupy R&B tracks . . . so hip-hop is also watered down, and, on the whole, pretty f'ing weak.

Maybe Mr Winistorfer hasn't enjoyed a front-to-back listen to Paid in Full, and he therefore doesn't realize that it can pretty sad when a (once) cool genre dies.

Cool name though: Winistorfer. Sounds like a Harvard name, good breeding.

Btw: this site won't let me use the f or s word: is this site rated PG? Does it not want to alienate the Hannah Montana demographic? Weak! : )