If there was one voice that dominated 2005-2010 radio, it was T-Pain's. His auto-tuned croon earned him spots on Billboard charts and guest features on everybody's albums.
The platinum single "I'm 'n Luv (Wit a Stripper)" came out in 2005 and was infectious. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing the R&B/pop hit. After a slow 2006, T-Pain had an extraordinary run in 2007, with twelve charting singles to his name in that year alone. A few of those, "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')," "Kiss Kiss," and "Low" were number one singles overall. His album from that year, Epiphany, is certified gold.
Tallahassee, Florida doesn't have a lot of boasting to do in the music industry. Only a couple of big time artists have ever come from there. T-Pain put the city on the map with his run of early singles, which we're revisiting today for our Throwback Thursday.
"I'm Sprung"
T-Pain's first single was "I'm Sprung," off his 2005 album Rappa Ternt Sanga. The track, and album, acted as an introduction to T-Pain's rap-turned-singing style.
"I'm N Luv (Wit A Stripper)"
"I'm Sprung" was pretty big, but this stripper anthem was even bigger. Check out the remix with Mike Jones for your daily dose of nostalgia.
E-40 - "U And Dat" featuring T. Pain & Kandi Girl
E-40 had an early ear for T-Pain, and decided to include him on the Lil Jon-produced single from his 2006 album My Ghetto Report Card.
R. Kelly - "I'm A Flirt Remix" featuring T.I. & T-Pain
R. Kelly has gone through his fair share of ups and downs over the years, but one major victory was his 2006 single featuring T-Pain and T.I. The song hit number one on the US rap charts, and holds a special place in our TBT playlists.
"Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin')" featuring Yung Joc
This track was T-Pains first number one overall track. Alongside Yung Joc, the two crafted a crossover masterpiece that had soccer mom vans goin' up on Tuesdays.
"Bartender" featuring Akon
One way to make a hit song is to craft one especially for night life. On "Bartender," T-Pain did just that: he gave everyone a perfectly great reason to go buy a drink.
"Can't Believe It" featuring Lil Wayne
T-Pain dominated the charts just before Lil Wayne did, generally speaking. "Can't Believe It," their massive collaborative single, could be seen as somewhat of a torch passing between the two.
Chris Brown - "Kiss Kiss" featuring T-Pain
Even the likes of Chris Brown have felt the need to collaborate with T-Pain to generate a massive single. C-Breezy, a known hitmaker himself, struck platinum on this collaboration.
Kanye West - "Good Life" featuring T-Pain
Not all of T-Pains singles still have wheels. Honestly, do you still play "Kiss Kiss"? Probably not.
But "Good Life" is a certified timeless banger. It'll still set a party off upon the first sound of T-Pain's warbly vocals.
"Chopped N Screwed" featuring Ludacris
A master of crafting song concepts, T-Pain employed Ludacris for this ode to Houston's slowed down version of hip hop.