

Smule: I am T-Pain - ashishk
http://iamtpain.smule.com/

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dylanz
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:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8RqgDsO3c4>

Also presented by Buckshot from Blackmoon:

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5nk_J-SQ_4>

Aside from that history lesson, this app is pretty hilarious, and I'd love to
play with it :)

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dmose
Wow, would have never expected someone to cite Blackmoon on HN .. respect!

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superchink
Agreed. That definitely takes a lot of balls, considering how typically averse
to hip-hop this community is.

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superchink
See what I mean?

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rms
No, your problem was that this community is in no way averse to hip-hop.

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akd
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=754160>

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rms
I'm not sure if you were trying to provide an example or a counter example --
the post you linked to is modded 3 points, but the parent is at 18 points,
showing a great deal of respect for the achievements of Mr. Wallace.

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stuntgoat
I am fairly certain that people using this will eventually learn to sing in
tune with out the app.

I really liked watching how happy everyone was when they were using the demo.
They were all so immediately impressed and inspired.

~~~
look_lookatme
_I really liked watching how happy everyone was when they were using the demo.
They were all so immediately impressed and inspired._

I think you nailed it. How rare is it that software actually makes people
_happy_?

This app is great.

~~~
petercooper
Well since no-one else has posted their exploits with I Am T-Pain on here yet,
here's my first song with it:

<http://iamtpain.smule.com/mysongs/uid/44417/1654/?did=>

And, no, I'm not familiar with the melody to I'm Sprung at all so I just made
it up and I start adlibbing eventually, lol. Definitely worth the £1.79 for
the entertainment factor. I wanna do some programming related hiphops next..

~~~
blhack
<http://iamtpain.smule.com/mysongs/uid/1/3532/?did=>

This is me doing it...

This is a _really_ great app. We had half the people in my office out in a
room we use for presentations with this hooked up to the PA. We were all
laughing our butts off the whole time, having a lot of fun.

THAT sort of thing will sell...

Very very good job, whoever wrote this.

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jkincaid
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.

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aston
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.

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redorb
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

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nuweborder
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.

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.

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reedlaw
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.

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ashishk
The pre-moderated title was "Smule is killing it."

Seriously though, their apps are always well thought out, tons of fun, and
very unique. Their track record is impressive.

~~~
yan
Ge is quite the impressive founder. I've been following other stuff he's done,
and it's all been fantastic.

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crescendo
This app is awesome. I'm a musical hobbyist, but today was the first time that
anything has ever remotely made it sound like I can sing.

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tptacek
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?

The app is cool. The market dynamics that produced the app are inspiring.

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heckacopter
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.

After having so much fun with this application, I'm left wondering why there
aren't more karaoke apps for iPhone.

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staunch
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.

Edit: Does anyone really believe the 75 5 star reviews it had instantly? All
of which sound fake as hell?

