Production Breakdown: Moxie Black’s “So Much Better”

Speaking of premature death pronouncements, how about that “Death of Autotune?” Being that he's a member of the Illuminati and everything, you'd think that Jay-Z would have been able to put the kibosh on that pesky effect with relative ease, but apparently the New World Order's reach doesn't extend inside the studio walls – either that or some higher-up in the Masons is a really big fan of T-Pain. The world may never know.

Jokes aside, I'm pretty sure “D.O.A.” will be remembered as a dope song, not a historical event; if anything, it was a timely reminder of something that many were already aware of: namely, that using ridiculous amounts of Auto-Tune makes you sound, well, ridiculous. Since then, artists seem to have taken the hint and chilled out on the effect, but I continue to hear it used fairly frequently, in a variety of contexts. And, needless to say, it's not as if those who do use it as a way to cover up their total lack of singing abilities (and there are many) are gonna give up their trusty crutch anytime soon.

As usual, though, I'ma have to rewind to the beginning: this week, yet another dope vocalist/producer duo landed on our radar. Illaj and Dekk, together known as Moxie Black introduced themselves to the Booth with “So Much Better,” a leak off their forthcoming, DJBooth-sponsored How Did This Happen? mixtape. While I quickly decided I liked what I was hearing, I was anxious to see just how readers would respond – as I remarked in my track review, driving guitar and prominently Auto-tuned singing are a somewhat dangerous combination today's music game.

As we all know, though, it's not the make of the boat but how you pilot it – uh, OK, let me rephrase that: What I mean to say is, any set of elements, depending on how skillfully those elements are used, can add up to either an absolute mess or something really cool. While the ingredients that went into Moxie Black's cut could bring to mind certain other, utterly failed fusions of rock and rap, in practice the result was a smashing success.. Sorta like a urban pop-infused take on an early Strokes joint:



Many referred to “So Much Better” as some sort of electro/rock/pop hybrid, placing them them alongside the likes of AudioDax, Christian Rich and Chiddy Bang (almost always duos, for whatever reason). This emerging trend seems rather vaguely defined – which is what I like about it: everything seems to be in play. Broadly, though, it seems to be the result of urban artists, turning to indie-rock for inspiration just as indie-rockers are taking cues from beat-driven pop – and both camps are feeling some serious '80s nostalgia. I mean, take a look at what Strokes frontman Julian Casablanca is doing now:



See what I mean? But I'll get get to the point: where musical fads and genre- promiscuity intersect, you bound to end up with some garbage – eventually, however, someone's bound to come along with an idea that's crazy enough to work. I'm glad there are artists out there who are willing to keep everything on the table; in music as in life, a little reckless experimentation is part of growing up and coming into one's own.