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HipHopHeads @sopuli.xyz Bearigator @ttrpg.network

Robot voiced rap is killing me

I mostly just listen to stuff I know I like, but once or twice a month I hop on Spotify and listen to a playlist I don't normally try. A few days ago it was "Street Soul". I'd never actually noticed this playlist before. Some of the stuff was dope but I noticed something that I think I really hate in modern rap. And now that I noticed it I can't stop noticing.

So many fucking rappers had some kind of autotune voice effect on their voice during their fucking raps. Examples include

WTF - Remix by Hotboii, featuring Polo G (I think. Dude might just have the world's creakiest voice)

Dancing With The Devil Pt 2 by Babyface Ray and Vory

Never Gon' End by DeeBaby

What the fuck is happening? I don't mind this sort of thing on singing. If you can't hit a note but want to sing anyways, do what you have to do to make your music. And I know I'm not the target audience for the rappers making the songs I'm talking about (I'm in my mid 30s) but I just don't fucking get it. Is their voice really so goofy they need to make themselves sound like robots? And why does it almost exclusively seem to be male artists doing it? I listen to a lot of female artists nowadays and none of them seem to do this goofy shit.

I'm sure it is just an aesthetic thing and I sound like an old man yelling at clouds but I just want to know what the rapper actually sounds like. If I go to a show I don't want to be confused when a living breathing person comes out, and not Casio.

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3 comments

  • I think it is indeed a stylistic choice. The producers know what they are doing and it is fully intentional - that's just where the sound has gone to. Auto tune is used in all sorts of music, in such a way that it's transparent and unnoticeable to the listener. Even a professional singer can't deliver a perfect performance 100% of the time. In the case of what you're referring to, the auto tune settings are intentionally left audible.

  • We're still complaining about auto tune in 2023? It's popular cause a lot of people like it. Maybe there's some perceived lack of authenticity, but I'd equate it to not liking electric guitars, Its an effect that changes the character of the sound and some people like it, others not so much. But it's definitely been the predominant sound for the last decade.

    Some of your examples are a bit much, and I think particularly for those artists voices it's a bit grating, but I think that has more to do with them than the effect itself