T Pain "The Iron Way" Live Mixtape Review

Few people can accurately say they’ve changed the course of music; count T-Pain among that short list. His bright, polished arrangements have become the in-demand sound across genres, and his scene-stealing vocal performances are among the most coveted in music. Since bursting on the scene in 2005, T-Pain has been awarded a Grammy, produced and written a plethora of chart-topping and platinum-selling singles, garnered "Songwriter of the Year" and "Producer of the Year" honors at the BMI Urban Awards and earned a BET Award. So it should come as little surprise that the musical maestro’s tremendous, self-produced third album, THR33 RINGZ, stands as a sonic odyssey brimming with innovation.

Indeed, T-Pain can speak from that perspective because he knows what it is like to struggle. His Tallahassee, Florida hometown was lacking music industry opportunities and connections, so the man born Faheem Najm chose the T-Pain moniker to signify his plight. He taught himself how to make music, write songs and record music. 

T-Pain’s use of the vocoder made his music stand out, and his prolific, high-quality output turned him into one of music’s most oft-imitated and in-demand producers, singers and collaborators. His first two albums, 2006’s Rappa Ternt Sanga and 2007’s Epiphany, have been certified gold, thanks to hit singles such as “I’m N Luv (Wit A Stripper)” and “Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’).” He has also collaborated with Kanye West (Good Life), Chris Brown (“Kiss Kiss”) Flo Rida (Low) Plies (Shawty) and Bow Wow (“Outta My System”) for platinum singles.

tpain.com | @TPain