No ID Recreates Jay Z’s “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)”


The legend himself, No ID breaks down how he created the instrumental for Jay Z’s “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)” using Maschine by Native Instruments.   After explaining his start with the E-mu SP1200 and Akai MPC 60, No ID further explains setting up his sound and making sure that it remains the way he intended.

“Sometimes I take my laptop in the car, to the beach, and plug it up and make music.”

2,041 thoughts on “No ID Recreates Jay Z’s “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)””

  1. Damn… First F Major now it’s No ID with that NI Maschine shit–are you guys tryna sell something? It looks clean and all, but I do that MP shit til the rust sets in and the rubber rubs off.

    BB$. MP Shit Til the Death.

    • I don’t know but all MPC killers seem to bite the dust after 5 or so years. Roland and emu have been trying for years. Open labs has even tried but they all bite the dust in the end. Ease of use has me interested and NI does offer a lot of support but i am still a little leary. It is hard to get rid of something that cost near 3000 dollars for a 700 product. Functionality and flexibility seems really good though.

      • true, but if all you have is $5-600, this seems like a good buy. The newer MPs have dope features, but they’re built like shit. A decent 2000XL or 3000 is gonna run you a couple grand and wont have as many features as the Maschine. Bottom line, it was just a loop. He could’ve freaked it with a DR. Sample

  2. ahhhhh you can do all of that in ableton ,fl,reason,ect……..

    he got a few loops and put it to together oh well…….

  3. I used to think about how fun it would be to make music in airplanes (hey, Dr. Dre!) and at parks and what not, but when I think about it, man, I really need concentration, and I can’t concentrate with dogs barking, two-pieces walking past me and overweight passengers squishing me against the window…..I really need mental peace and quiet when it all goes down…

    • Yeah, the funny thing is i think thats what everybody thinks when you realize you can work on a laptop anywhere, but the reality is, how often are you going to be on a plane making a beat? lol, not often enough to switch your production setup! lol. Sounds dope, but It’s essentially a midi controller with more functionality than most midi controllers. You still need to hook it up to a PC and in that regard its not a whole lot different from any hardware sampler/sequencer. Just has a bigger screen, lol. But it definately looks dope! If I ever decide to switch to an all software setup it would definately be for Maschine. Essentially all these things do the same thing! LOL its all about your preferences

      • Well, I make all my beats on planes. lol

        Actually, when I hear that I automatically think, “that sounds pretty cumbersome.” You gotta have space for your laptop AND machine. Though I understand you can use the software by itself that takes the fun away. Can you use a controller with a closed laptop?

        I have wanted to make beats in my car though…I think that would be interesting.

  4. Semantik, keep posting Maschine videos, they are VERY interesting if you are like me and only work with hardware. This maschine is gonna be a gamechanger imho.

  5. I’venbeen an mpc user for about 10 years now Ann I can honestly say that when I decided to upgrade I looked at the 5000 and the MV real close… ended up going with maschine more for what potential it had. Now that its on 1,5 I can say my mpc sits a bit lonely… It really is the best of both worlds. to any doubters… You just gotta get hands on with it. I also have live 8 and admitadley haven’t had the time to fully delve into it (maschine an live work great together) but live doesn’t feel like an mpc. I mean I cut my slices from the controller just like my mpc how dope is that? Any way no I’d is dope. Thanks for the video. Rant over lol.

    • I think if your a REAL producer with REAL TALENT…it wont matter what you use. NO ID has used a lot of machines as well as Jazzy Jeff the RZA they all seem to make hits no matter what they use over the years. I think that is the message I see with producers. Its about music and your own talent not about machines. Use the machine that allows you to do what you do best…..and there is no argument.

  6. Native Instruments did a demo of Maschine at the producers conference. After playing with it for a few minutes I was sold. They basically based it around a MPC.

  7. TO ME REASON IS HANDS DOWN THE EASIEST PROGRAM TO USE. ONCE YOU GET PAST THE LEARNING CURVE ALL YOU CAN DO IS KEEP LEARNING ! IT DOES EVERYTHING ! ITS REALLY ALL YOU NEED . NOW YOU CAN EVEN RECORD AUDIO ! IM ALSO PRROMOTING BEAT THANG VIRTUAL . YOU CAN STREAM SAMPLES RIGHT OFF THE INTERNET ‘ CHOPP AND KEEEP IT MOVING. I ADMIT I HAVN’T DOVE INTO IT THAT DEEP YET BUT I LIKE THE SOUNDS AND FOR THE PRICE ITS A NO BRAINER. LOGIC AND ABLETON ARE JUST TOO DAMN DIFFICULT FOR ME TO PUT THAT MUCH TIME INTO LEARNING JUST YET.IM INTO MAKING BEATS FAST AND REASON IS FAST AS IT GETS !

  8. Wow now that I’ve watched the video, I’m wondering if the CEO of N.I. was sitting behind the camera making sure No ID sold his product effectively.. 🙂 This reminds me of the MV-8800 sales pitch video RZA did a few years ago…ID seems like a cool cat though…

  9. LOL they have used hiphop legends to sell this product, i gotta mpd 32, and now im thinking did i make a mistake by not buying this, dont belive the hype, its all upto how you work tho,

    i love no i.d’s realness , ” i dont want no engineer coming in and putting his sauce on my shit ” heheh ” i love my sounds the way they are” .

  10. didnt mean painful as a disrespect btw, just this pain we all shared when we hear “our” samples being used after by somebody with more exposure :p

    NO ID is one of the greatest and im a random nobody =)

  11. It’s amazing to see all of these artists using modern techniques, while still retaining the sounds of yesterday. Companies like Native Instruments, Ableton and Serato are killin’ it these days!

  12. seems real interesting,id like to try it..im using reason right now cuz my uncle hooked it up,also got a mpc,turtables,microkorg,and some other stuff.id like to be able to master hardware and software just cuz i like to learn different things.i plan on having a bunch of old drum machines,laptops filled with different programs and a bunch of vinyl when i get old.

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