I'd say 98% of the hip hop that's played on the radio and on tv can "not" be classified as hip hop. Here is a fantastic video about the Auto-Tune industry, presented by one of the pioneers of real hip hop, KRS-ONE:<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8RqgDsO3c4" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8RqgDsO3c4</a><p>Also presented by Buckshot from Blackmoon:<p><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5nk_J-SQ_4" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5nk_J-SQ_4</a><p>Aside from that history lesson, this app is pretty hilarious, and I'd love to play with it :)
I am fairly certain that people using this will eventually learn to sing in tune with out the app.<p>I really liked watching how happy everyone was when they were using the demo. They were all so immediately impressed and inspired.
I wish you could use this to Auto-Tune your outgoing phone calls. Sure, it would get annoying as hell after around 30 seconds. But those first 30 seconds would be glorious.
Very clever piece of cross-promotion here. I'm a big fan of the "Autotune the News" series on Youtube, and their latest video featured T-Pain and his iPhone app. At the time, I had no clue such an app existed and assumed it was just a gag. Now that it exists, I gotta have it. That's about the best I've been advertised to this year.
I downloaded it becuase I like poetry and wish I could sing; I am amazed how much I'm having trouble "letting it out all" even in a room alone...Cool side effect of the app; learn about yourself
Jay-Z stated, "Death of AutoTune, moment of silence". But as many may think hiphop is not dead. And there's nothing wrong with utilizing AutoTune. The problem here is that instead of using the software to enhance music and give an interesting effect, many are simply using the feature to cover up the fact that they just cannot sing. Not everyone is creative enough to properly use AutoTune to make good music. Everyone cannot be T-Pain or Kanye. True creative geniuses at work. Real hiphop is still alive and well. Artists like KRS-ONE, as dylanz previously posted, are not the "end all, be all" in so-called "real' hiphop. Try JayZ, Lupe Fiasco, Mos Def, Talib Kwali, Nas, Kanye West, Pharrell, Lil Wayne, T.I., and lets not forget the millions of underground and undiscovered artists that never get the shot at mainstream exposure, or even to earn a living from their craft.<p>And in response to datums. Hiphop didnt just get rich. It got smart, and diversified itself, as all other genres of music have done before it, and all other areas of the entertainment business. Its hiphop's turn to shine.
How does this compare with the real Auto-Tune plugin? Auto-Tune Evo is a $399 piece of software. Aren't they doing something foolish in selling the same technology for a fraction of the price? I'm sure there are fewer features in the iPhone app, but for some modest uses, it seems it could easily be used in lieu of the full-priced software.
The pre-moderated title was "Smule is killing it."<p>Seriously though, their apps are always well thought out, tons of fun, and very unique. Their track record is impressive.
Is this the kind of application you can only pull off in a phone? Is this a harbinger of a whole new class of social/casual applications, all of which will have tiny price tags ($2? really?) but make metric crap-tons of cash because so many people can run them?<p>The app is cool. The market dynamics that produced the app are inspiring.
They could have just made a crappy app, and sold based on a gimmick and an existing fan base, but they actually went and created a really great app with lots of extra features.<p>After having so much fun with this application, I'm left wondering why there aren't more karaoke apps for iPhone.
Thinking it's kind of a scam. I think those videos are misleading. I think the good reviews in the app store are paid for. I'm going to request a refund, not because it just doesn't work for crap, but because it's scammy.<p>Edit: Does anyone really believe the 75 5 star reviews it had instantly? All of which sound fake as hell?