By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices
T-Pain sure is ... an unlikely pop star.
But no matter how he looks --meaning that in the most respectable way -- it seems though the music loving masses can't get enough of him.
His new single, 'Buy You A Drank (Shawty Snappin),' is currently the No. 1 song in the urban radio format, and is even a best-selling ring-tone.
The track, the breakout single from the southern soulster's sophomore opus 'Epiphany,' features Atlanta-bred rapper Yung Joc and has ranked No. 1 on four separate charts monitored by 'R&R' magazine and Mediabase, respectively.
The ring-tone for the song sold over one million copies since release, and is No. 1 on the 'Billboard' Hot RingMasters chart.
"Basically, these days lots of people begin their relationships in the clubs," explains the Tallahassee-born hip-hop artist legally known as Faheem Najm. "Whole conversations begin with some guy buying a young lady a drink. I wanted to make a song for those folks."
And he may be onto something with that thinking.
With the success of his first album 'Rappa Ternt Sanga,' which went gold off the strength of the peculiarly titled songs 'I'm Sprung' and 'I'm in Luv (Wit a Stripper),' T-Pain has become in-demand amongst hip-hop's inner circle. His discography reads like a "Who's Who" consisting of collaboration credits with R. Kelly, Bow-Wow, Lil' Wayne, and Akon (who owns Konvicted, the imprint which brought T-Pain's music to the masses).
"There has been a growth inside of me since I made that first album," he said, reflecting on the time he spent working on 'Epiphany' -- due out next month. "To be blunt, I had to learn to stop being lazy in the studio. On the first album I recorded what I thought people wanted to hear, this time it was about me being an artist."
Can't wait to see what he has in store.
In the meantime, check out the video for 'Buy U A Drank.'


Comments: (11)
Add a comment
By: Cee Cee on 5/19/2007 12:09AM
T-Pain do your thang...it's just his time to shine !!
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: gweezy mac on 5/19/2007 12:02PM
trade kevin garnette to the bulls
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Tavia on 5/19/2007 3:11PM
Hey he says he's teddy penderass make it do what it do .don't know if that's a good name to bite off of.uh huh..let me stop i was in the club humping off his song Tpain I aint mad @ ya
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Winfred Warrick on 5/19/2007 2:58PM
T-Pain is the BOMB, we all know that!
BUT!!!!!!!!
Why does Karu (or BV) have the worst pictures he (they)could find of T-Pain, who is actually not bad looking! Always shoot down the brotha! We have a long way to go. When they had a pic Kim Kashardishan (or whatever her name is; you know the one who made the tape with Ray J) she was a f'ing glamour queen and she is a $5 whore!
T-Pain regardless of how Karu (or BV) feels you look, you are the shiznit! I enjoyed you back when you were "Sprung" until now! You have your own style and do the damn thang!
Winfred Warrick
Celebrity Columnist & Image Consultant
Shereese Hair & Beauty Magazine
www.shereese.com
www.winfredwarrick.com
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Winfred Warrick on 5/19/2007 3:00PM
Karu, where is your damn picture?
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: patricia on 5/19/2007 5:41PM
what does kim kardashian have to do with tpain?
regardless if she slobbed every knob in the business, she's still a beautiful girl on the outside.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: LISA on 5/19/2007 11:50PM
I LOVE HIS MUSIC EVERY SONG HE RELEASE IS A HIT. CAN'T WAIT FOR THE CD TO DROP.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Scorpion Queen on 5/20/2007 1:12PM
T-Pain has the most annoying voice on the radio. Akon is a close second. I understand him providing something different on a song (love "I'm a flirt"), but do you really want to hear an entire cd of him? Plus he is NOT easy on the eyes. In my opinion, he dont have lasting power. He has about 7 more minutes of his 15 minutes of fame. Peace
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: TINATAX on 5/20/2007 9:40PM
WHAT IS UP W/ HIS VOICE? IT GETS ON MY NERVES.I LITERALLY TURN THE STATION OR AT LEAST TURN IT DOWN!
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: 1st LADY on 6/14/2007 1:10PM
FOR A WHOLE OTHER TYPE OF SEXY!!! I am loving this!!!
Reply to this Comment | Report This