US rapper Jay-Z has spoken about his decision to remove all traces of auto-tune from his forthcoming 'Blueprint 3' album.

The rapper had originally intended to use the popular production technique, which automatically corrects a singer's voice if they hit a wrong note.

But he later dropped it from the album after penning a track entitled 'Death of Auto-Tune'.

In an interview with Billboard magazine, Jay-Z said it was his responsibility as a hip-hop artist to shun the technique after it entered the mainstream.

"In hip-hop, our job is once a trend becomes a gimmick, to get rid of it. We've done that since the beginning of time," he said.

"Now people are using Auto-tune even in Wendy's commercials, and it's like, 'Oh no! That's has to go!' It's become part of main culture.

“It's the same thing like when the old lady in Oregon starts saying, 'bling, bling.' It's like, 'I'm never saying that again.'"

Jay-Z also revealed that Kanye West, who has produced 'Blueprint 3' and has been a strong supporter of auto-tune, had sparked the idea for 'Death of Auto-Tune'.

"When he heard the beat he said, 'Man, this is just so hard! This has to be against everything -- no auto-tune, none of that type of stuff!' Jay-Z said.

“He didn't know what I was going to do or where I was going to take it, but it was actually his fault."

'Blueprint 3' is due to be released on September 11 – eight years to the day after the trilogy began.

(by Jason Gregory)