Jay-Z's "Death of Auto-Tune"

Jay-Z's song "D.O.A.," or "Death Of Auto-Tune" has set the music scene on fire. (Credit: AP Photo / Darryl Dyck)

Released from his latest hip-hop masterpiece, Blueprint 3, the song, "D.O.A.," or "Death Of Auto-Tune", produced by Kanye West and No ID (Update: Apparently, No ID is the sole producer of the song, though Kanye will be producing tracks for the album), has set the music scene on fire - not because the song is hot (and it is...), but because a controversial debate over use of the technology has been building for more than a year.

Leaked on Hot 97 by Funkmaster Flex last week, "D.O.A." gives an iconic voice and position to the high-profile drama of using Auto-Tune, a software audio processing filter developed by Antares Audio Technologies. Originally created for producers whose artists needed a little extra help in the vocal department, the software automatically, artificially tunes the voice to computer-perfect pitch.

Popular artists like Cher, and most recently, T-Pain, pushed the envelope by manipulating the software to deliberately distort their voices for creative license.  What you get is a cold, robotic sound that has become all the rage and perhaps the norm, in chart-topping singles in every musical genre.

So what's the big deal, Hov? Why is Jay-Z upset enough to make a whole song of the controversy? We asked local Indy music-gurus for their take:

DJ Limelight (www.djlimelight.com) - If Jay's "D.O.A." is any indication of what Blueprint 3 will sound like, he will undoubtedly be the best ever.

Grey Granite (www.myspace.com/greygranite ) - I don't agree with Jay-Z dissing auto-tune. Kanye West did an entire album on auto-tune -it's weird that Jay-Z would say that. I feel like auto-tune needs to stop. It needs to be changed and replaced with something else. Singing is relative ... who's to say who can't really sing, anyway?

Venus Riley (Fashionista and aspiring DJ) - I like Jay's new song, but it's not a hit. I wasn't that hyped about it, and I think it could've been harder. Everybody's always hatin' on auto-tune all the time... I don't get it. It's just a phase. An experiment. Take it as that. Don't get so serious about it.

Bobby Staten (hip-hop enthusiast) - I'm a lightweight Jay-Z fan and I enjoy his music but I don't think this song meets the bar. Lyrically, the song is subpar for Jay; the beat is bananas. Auto-Tune is the re-birth of the voice box. It's cool, but should be limited to a small sector, not the whole industry.

You can check the song on YouTube; however, I hear Jay-Z won't release Blueprint 3 until September 11. The first album since 2007's American Gangster, Blueprint 3 will be released on the eighth anniversary of the original Blueprint - and the 9/11 attacks.