T-Pain is
another of those artists who are successful at everything they try to do
musically speaking. In theory an Auto-Tune heavy song about falling in love
with a stripper (and how she dances upon her particular acrobatic apparatus)
shouldn't even be a hit. But somehow T-Pain turned "I'm In Love With A
Stripper" into one of his many hits. And when I speak of T-Pain's hits
I am inclined to include songs like "Bartender" and "Can't
Believe It" because both songs were so well done and catchy that if I
were to sing a line from anywhere, you could finish it.
Then there are
the features. Let's not even go into that because there are so many of them
that are favorites that this article will just devolve into that. Suffice to
say, he's a monster on a hook or a featured verse.
All this prior
knowledge led me towards T-Pain's mixtape Stoic. When I listened
to it I was hard pressed to believe that this was just an album that he
[T-Pain] didn't feel like putting out. That's probably why I consider this
project more of a free album than anything else. The sounds are great and the
songs are almost instantly catchy. This is the magic of T-Pain.
"Can I
Get" is a fun party track and one of the first songs I put on repeat.
The basic theme of this song is this: despite his promise of never, ever
drinking again T-Pain is demanding drinks to increase the amazing mood he is
in. I can relate to this. A good party track isn't complete without Pitbull and
he proves that on this one. Pitbull and Pain play off each other, their verses
playing as if they were sharing the same mindset.
"Hole In
My Pocket" is an interesting song to me. I say this because T-Pain,
assisted by Nuke Nickelz and Doe Montana from the Nappy Headz, makes being
broke sounds so soulful. Having been broke before I can tell you there's
nothing particularly soulful about it. This speaks to both a great storytelling
skill and great production skills. Next time I'm low on funds, this will be my
theme. Guaranteed.
"Monster
Mash" reminds me of "Church" from the Epiphany album.
The drums pound and the cymbals crash well on this one. In this song 'monster
mash' is a euphemism for his weapon. Notty Black is featured here with a
delivery that sounds somewhere between Yelawolf and Ludacris. It's an
interesting sound that adds to the track.
"Streets
Saved Me" is rather introspective once you actually listen to it. Here
T-Pain praises the streets as opposed to condemning that part of his
upbringing. This track speaks on how the streets were a refuge when his family
couldn't handle him. In those streets he discovered music and the rest is
history, as they say. Young Cash is the featured artist who speaks on his
experience in the streets.
"SupperTime"
wasn't what I expected. I didn't know what to expect, to be honest. The track
is about a man who sees a new man in his ex's life. I'm unsure if he's jealous
or just missing her here. Mostly I belive it to be a mixture of the two. Any
man who sees an ex move on has probably felt this at one time or another.
Also check out
"Going Off" and "Invisible Girl".
T-Pain offers an
eclectic mix on this mixtape that I wholly appreciate and respect. I hope more
of the same is coming in the near future.
written by
Lucius Black for Royalty Magazine
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