If you've listened to anything commercial in the last few years, you've heard Auto-Tune. Grammy-winning producers have used it to fix pitch problems for almost every top 100 "artist" since Pro Tools came about. While Auto-Tune has been able to make singers out of screeching hacks, many in the music world see it as one more nail in the coffin of music as an art form rather than a commodity.

Back in '98, Cher used it to put a vocoder effect on her vocals in "Believe", and T-Pain has made a career out of Oakleys, tophats, and Auto-Tune vocals. Kanye West, never failing to capitalize on what's pop, used it ad nauseum on 808s & Heartbreak. At least one major hip hop artist has decided it is time for Auto-Tune to disappear.

Stepping up the promo for his upcoming (on a leak website near you!) Blueprint 3, Jay-Z has released the street single for "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)". Can't give Hov full credit for taking a stand against the abused and overused effect, since Kanye West gets a production credit on this track.

With the dismal state of radio hip hop right now, it's no surprise that when Jay puts something out there it is treated as an instant classic. Love him or hate him, his legacy stands strong, as this is his eleventh studio release and people still salivate when his voice appears on a track. Forgive me for only taking this track at face value, since Roc-A-Fella/Island/Def Jam is full of Auto-Tuned artists and will continue to be in the future, as pop, rock, R&B, hip hop, all of it will continue to pitch-correct even if they pass up on the vocoding effect sooner rather than later.  Case in point: Lady GaGa got her start on Def Jam, and the quick-to-speak sensationalist Kanye has compared her to Madonna.

Even with my skepticism, if the rest of Blueprint 3 keeps up this sprint, we're in for another breath of fresh air for mainstream hip hop. As for Auto-Tune? I've got an idea: release all these albums that use it without it and see if we can start to weed out the trash.

Download "D.O.A." for yourself at the top of the page.

Tags: Jay-Z, MP3, New Releases