The Summer's First Must Add: D.O.A. by Jay-Z

The Hip Hop Community has been buzzing since Hov's newest joint, Death Of Autotune, leaked onto the airwaves of Hot 97 and throughout the Internet. And for once, that is a good thing.

Other than T.I.'s Paper Trail, the genre's best efforts have been hampered by mediocre guest spots and the dreaded autotune.

Lil' Wayne, Yung Berg and even (gasp!) Kanye West have used the autotune device to alter their voices and raps. T-Pain and Akon used autotune to advance their careers, and for T-Pain, it was his only avenue to superstardom.

The use of autotune by rappers is akin to what would happen if a whole team of baseball players used the same bat. Sure, it would produce its fair share of hits, but eventually would shatter upon meeting a Roger Clemens raged-up 'roid ball.

(OK, maybe the baseball analogy was too much. I digress.)

In Death of Autotune, Jay reverts back to one of hip-hop's most simple formulas for success. Hard, poignant bars with content over a smooth soul-sample helped launched Hova into a megastar and could possibly mark the beginning of the end for the autotune.

Not since Kriss-Kross started wearing their jerseys backwards have I seen a more polarizing fad in hip-hop. Autotune usage by rappers needs to go the way of tapes, VCRs and those ugly Houston Astros throwbacks.

D.O.A. is a throwback in its own right, without the hideous technicolor horizontal stripes.

At its core, the track is likeable because of its beat, its artist and its message. Hov comes back with a shot at what is wrong with the game today. All while reminding the world why the once-retired 38-year-old is better than anyone and everyone hip-hop has to offer.

Throughout the summer I'm sure there will be some tracks that scream "Add me!" as soon as they hit my ear drums. And as soon as I hear them, I'll pass them on to you. But for now, add D.O.A. A.S.A.P.

D.O.A. (Death Of Autotune) by Jay-Z (produced by No I.D. & Kanye West [AllHipHop.com]