T-PAIN: Number One Stunner

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By Karu F. Daniels, AOL Black Voices

T-PainT-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.

T-Pain, circa 2005.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.'


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