Faheem Rasheed Najm (born September 30, 1985), better
known by his stage name T-Pain, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper,
record producer, and actor. He began his career as a rapper in the
group Nappy Headz. In 2005, he became a singer and released his debut
album Rappa Ternt Sanga. Throughout his career as a singer, T-Pain
has extensively used the Auto-Tune pitch correction effect.
Since the release of his debut album, T-Pain has produced numerous
hits of his own and for other rappers and R&B singers. In 2008,
he won a Grammy with rapper Kanye West for the single "Good
Life". In 2010, he won another Grammy with Jamie Foxx for the
single "Blame It". T-Pain is also the founder of the record
label Nappy Boy Entertainment, established in 2005.
Najm was born in Tallahassee, Florida on September 30, 1985.[1]
His stage name is short for "Tallahassee Pain" and was
chosen because of the hardships he experienced while living there.
He is a Muslim.[2] At age ten, Najm turned his bedroom into a music
studio, using a keyboard, a beat machine and a four-track recorder.[3][4]
Career
2004-2006: Early career and Rappa Ternt Sanga
T-Pain joined the rap group Nappy Headz in 2004 and later recorded "I'm
Fucked Up", a cover version of Akon's single "Locked Up".
Akon heard the song and immediately signed T-Pain to Konvict Muzik,
his label. After being discovered, T-Pain began singing instead of
rapping. T-Pain subsequently recorded and released his debut album,
Rappa Ternt Sanga, on December 6, 2005.[1] The album reached number
thirty-three on the Billboard 200, and has since been certified Gold
by the RIAA, for reaching sales of 500,000 units.
The album was preceded by the lead single, "I'm Sprung",
which was released in August 2005 and reached number eight on the
Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart. The second single, "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)",
featuring Mike Jones, was released in December 2005 and reached number
five on the Hot 100 and number ten on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart. Talking with Hustler Magazine T-Pain said the inspiration
behind "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" was "I took a
friend of mine in Florida to a strip club. It was his first time.
So I got ahold of one of the girls and gave her some money and told
her to stay on him. And he fell in love with her! The next day we
went to the studio, and I wrote the song." [5] The third and
final single from the album, "Studio Luv", was released
in October 2006 but failed to chart.
2007-2008: Epiphany
T-Pain performing at the 2007 Hot 97 Summer Jam concert.
In mid-2006, T-Pain began work on his sophomore album, now with
the Zomba Label Group as well as Konvict Muzik and Jive Records.
T-Pain's sophomore album Epiphany, was released on June 5, 2007.
The album sold 171,000 records in its first week, reaching number
one on the Billboard 200.[6] The record has since sold 819,000 records
in the United States but has yet to be certified by the RIAA.[7]
The album was preceded by the lead single "Buy U a Drank (Shawty
Snappin')" featuring Yung Joc in February 2007. The single reached
number one on both the Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart,
becoming his first single to top charts. The album's second single, "Bartender",
featuring Akon was released in June 2007 and reached number five
on the Hot 100 and number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
The third and final single from the album, "Church", was
released in October 2007 but failed to chart in the United States.
Speaking in May 2007 to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis, of the
award-winning Blues & Soul about his reason for naming his second
album 'Epiphany', T-Pain stated: "One of the two dictionary
meanings of epiphany is 'a sudden moment of insight or revelation'.
And to me the title 'Epiphany' signifies the moment I realized that,
to make the best music I can, I needed to just go in the studio and
be myself, and not concentrate so hard on following other people's
formulas."[8]
While promoting his second album, T-Pain made guest appearances
on multiple songs by other artists. T-Pain was featured on "I'm
a Flirt" (remix) by R. Kelly with T.I., "Outta My System" by
Bow Wow, "Baby Don't Go" by Fabolous, "I'm So Hood" by
DJ Khaled with many other rappers, "Shawty" by Plies, "Kiss
Kiss" by Chris Brown, "Low" by Flo Rida, and "Good
Life" by Kanye West.[9] In two weeks in late 2007, T-Pain was
featured on four top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[10]
"Good Life" with Kanye West later won the BET Award for
Best Collaboration and was nominated in several other categories.[11][12]
In 2008, the single won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Song.[13]
2007-2009: Thr33 Ringz
In 2007, T-Pain began work on his third album with Rocco Valdes,
Akon and Lil Wayne. The album was also his first under his Nappy
Boy Entertainment.
T-Pain's third studio album, Thr33 Ringz, was released on November
11, 2008.[14] The album sold 168,000 records in its first week, reaching
number four on the Billboard 200. A mixtape, Pr33 Ringz, was released
in early 2008 before the album.
The album was preceded by three singles. Its lead single, "Can't
Believe It", featuring Lil Wayne, was released in July 2008.
The single reached number seven on the Hot 100 and number two on
the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album's second single, "Chopped
'N' Skrewed", featuring Ludacris, was released in September
2008. The single reached number twenty-seven on the Hot 100 and number
three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The third and final
single from the album, "Freeze", featuring Chris Brown,
was released in October 2008 and reached number thirty-eight on the
Hot 100 and number thirty-nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Guest appearances on Thr33 Ringz included T.I., Lil Wayne, Ludacris,
DJ Khaled, Ciara, Chris Brown and Kanye West among others.[15] Pr33
Ringz was the introduction mixtape for the album.
T-Pain at General Motors Place concert in Vancouver in January 2009.
In 2008, T-Pain continued to appear on numerous rap singles, such
as "She Got It" by 2 Pistols, "Go Girl" by Ciara, "The
Boss" by Rick Ross, "Cash Flow" by Ace Hood, "Shawty
Get Loose" by Lil Mama, "One More Drink" by Ludacris,
and "Go Hard" by DJ Khaled with Kanye West. T-Pain and
Ludacris collaborated to perform "Chopped 'N' Skrewed" and "One
More Drink" on American late-night television programs Jimmy
Kimmel Live on ABC in November 2008 and on NBC's Saturday Night Live
in the same month. T-Pain appeared again on SNL in February 2009
(on the episode hosted by Bradley Cooper with musical guest TV on
the Radio) in the SNL Digital Short. T-Pain also supported the album
in 2009 with his Thr33 Ringz Tour, which included sold out shows
across North America. T-Pain and rapper Lil Wayne formed the duo
T-Wayne in 2008.[16] The duo released a self-titled mixtape in late
2008; it charted on the Billboard 200 in January 2009.[17] Their
debut album was going to be released in 2009, but never was.[18]
2009-present: RevolveR
In May 2009, T-Pain made an appearance on a live-action episode
of Aqua Teen Hunger Force as Frylock, where he made his debut as
an actor.[19] He collaborated with country-pop singer Taylor Swift
for the CMT Music Awards, and performed "Thug Story", a
parody of Swift's hit single "Love Story".[20] In an interview
with MTV, T-Pain announced that he would release his fourth studio
album in November 2009 and that its title was UBER.[21] He stated
that although he originally wanted to release the album in the summer
of 2010, his label had pushed the release forward. Regardless of
these announcements, the album wasn't released in 2009. An iPhone
application called "I Am T-Pain" features an auto tuner,
allowing fans to record and modify their own voice to accompany an
instrumental collection of T-Pain's music. It was released in September
2009.[22] In July 2009, T-Pain endorsed the 2009 T-Pain Killa Cam-Pain,
a grassroots effort to help him become elected as president of Florida
State University.[23]
In November 2009, T-Pain released the first single from his fourth
studio album, "Take Your Shirt Off".[24] The single only
managed to reach number eighty on the Hot 100, and was later dubbed
a promotional single. Later, in February 2010, he released the official
lead single from his fourth studio album, "Reverse Cowgirl",
featuring Young Jeezy.[25] He later release an updated version of
the song excluding Young Jeezy's verse and adding a new bridge. The
single reached number seventy-five on the Hot 100 and number sixty-four
on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming a mild hit. The
single has since been dubbed a promotional single. T-Pain was later
featured on the "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" single
in February 2010, which reached number two on the Hot 100. In the
fall of 2009, T-Pain began work with Cartoon Network's Adult Swim
to produce and star in a television animated musical special based
on Freaknik. Freaknik: The Musical aired on March 7, 2010.[26]
In June 2010, T-Pain confirmed that his fourth studio album RevolveR
has been completed and mastered, but that it will not be released
until album sales increase.[27] He elaborated upon this in August
2010, stating that the album probably wouldn't be released until
2011. T-Pain's first feature film, Lottery Ticket, was released on
August 20, 2010. In October 2010, T-Pain release his third promotional
single, Rap Song. The song charted poorly, peaking at 89 on the Hot
100.
T-Pain announced that he would release a mixtape called "So
Much Pain" He later released a Nappy Boy mixtape called T-Pain
Presents: Nappy Boy All Stars Vol.1 which contained Nappy Boy remixes
tf Every Girl, All The Way Turnt Up, & Forever. Later he announced
a mixtape for his album "rEVOLVEr" called "prEVOLVEr." the
mixtape released three songs, the first being "Hoes & Ladies" which
featured Lil Wayne and Field Mob's Smoke. The other two songs released
were contest songs. The contest songs where meant for anyone willing
to get on the track and who ever lays down the best verse will feature
on the track and the actual album. The first contest song was called "Motivated" which
was a rap song and the second song was an R&B song for the singer.
the song was called "Merry Christmas." On the mixtape, "T-Mixes" were
made, which are T-Pain's remixes to some 2010 hit songs. The released
remixes were No Hands, Black & Yellow, Loving You No More, Make
It Rain, & Like a G6. Two out of the five T-Mixes were made into
the official remixes. They were Black & Yellow by Wiz Khalifa
and featured him with Snoop Dogg & Juicy J. The other T-Mix that
was made into an officiakl remix was Loving You No More by Dirty
Money, which originally featured drake, but the remix features T-Pain
and rapper Gucci Mane.
T-Pain was featured on the hit single All I Do Is Win by DJ Khaled,
along with the remix. He featured on Wisin & Yandel's single
Imaginate & Bun B's single Trillionaire. In the last two quarters
of 2010, he was featured on hit singles like Pitbull's Hey Baby (Drop
It To The Floor) and Nelly's Move That Body. He was also featured
on another single by Spanish duo Wisin & Yandel along with rapper
50 Cent called "No Dejemos Que Se Apague." The last two
single's T-Pain were featured on in 2010 were the official Remixes
to Black & Yellow by rapper Wiz Khalifa & Loving You No More.
The "Black & Yellow" remix featured T-Pain along with
west-coast rapper Snoop Dogg & Three 6 Mafia's Juicy J. The "Loving
You No More" remix featured T-Pain along with rapper Gucci Mane.
In January 2011, T-Pain was rumored to be signed to the Young Money,
Cash Money label. Later rapper Short Dawg denied that he was on the
YMCM team. Later in january he announces on Twitter "Yes, I
am Yung Mula." T-Pain was featured on the first single by DJ
Khaled called "Welcome To My Hood" off his new album We "The
Best Forever" The song featured him along with Rick Ross, Plies, & Lil
Wayne. He is also expected to be featured on albums such as Drake's
Take Care, Lil Wayne's Tha Carter IV, Tech N9ne's All 6s and 7s,
and many more. A new toy called "iAm T-Pain Microphone" will
make it's way to stores everywhere in 2011, at the price of $39.99.[citation
needed] T-Pain is featured on a single called Electroman which is
by house artist Benny Benassi. Another single was release in January
that featured him. The single is called Can't Sleep by JRandall.
In February, 2011, T-Pain announces that his first official single
will feature rapper Drake. This is the third time he changed his
single to a promotional single.
Musical style
He has called his style of music "Hard & B".[28] T-Pain
uses Auto-Tune, a pitch-correcting audio processor, for his vocals.
Music critic Andy Kellman compared T-Pain's singing style to that
of Cher in her 1998 hit "Believe", in which Cher used voice
enhancements.[29] In response to Jay-Z's single "D.O.A. (Death
of Auto-Tune)", T-Pain stated that he would still use the method.[21]
T-Pain's use of Auto-Tune has been cited as an influence on other
urban artists' works, including Snoop Dogg's single "Sexual
Eruption",[30] Lil Wayne's single "Lollipop",[31]
and Kanye West's album 808s & Heartbreak.[32] In November 2008,
T-Pain demanded credit from other artists who used Auto-Tune.[33]
Personal life
Mug shot of T-Pain taken in November 2007.
T-Pain has been married to Amber since 2003. His song "I'm
Sprung" is dedicated to her. They have three children: daughter
Lyriq, son Muziq, and son Kaydnz Kodah (born May 2009).[34][35]
He had two incidents of legal problems in 2007. When he refused
to cut his set short at Radio One's Spring Fest Concert in Miami
on the evening of April 28, 2007, police presence escalated backstage.
He became agitated after concert officials stopped his performance
of "Buy You a Drink". Police chased T-Pain and his entourage
out of the premises and detained them.[36] After a June 2007 concert
of T-Pain's, Tallahassee police issued a warrant for his arrest over
a suspended driver's license. T-Pain turned himself into the Leon
County Jail on November 2, 2007.[37]
On March 27, 2009, T-Pain was involved in a golf cart accident,
the same day he was due for a music video shoot for Lil' Kim's Download
song. He suffered cuts, bruises, and four missing teeth and had emergency
dental work done. He returned to performing on March 29, 2009.[38]
The accident was later referenced in the music video of Glasses Malone's
song "Sun Come Up".
Discography
Main article: T-Pain discography
* Rappa Ternt Sanga (2005)
* Epiphany (2007)
* Thr33 Ringz (2008)
* RevolveR (2011)
Mixtape
* Pr33 Ringz (2008)
* Prevolver The Mixtape (2010)
Soundtracks
* Freaknik: The Musical Soundtrack (2010)
Filmography
* Freaknik: The Musical (2010)
* Lottery Ticket (2010)
Awards and nominations
* American Music Awards
o 2007, Favorite Male Artist [Nominated].[39]
* BET Awards
o 2009, Best Male R&B Artist (Nominated)
o 2009, Best Collaboration ("Blame It") with Jamie Foxx (Won)
o 2009, Viewer's Choice ("Can't Believe It") with Lil Wayne (Nominated)
o 2008, Best Collaboration ("Kiss Kiss") with Chris Brown (Nominated)[12]
o 2008, Best Collaboration ("Low") with Flo Rida (Nominated)[12]
o 2008, Viewer's Choice ("Kiss Kiss") with Chris Brown (Nominated)[12]
o 2008, Best Collaboration ("Good Life") with Kanye West (Won)[11]
o 2008, Video of the Year ("Good Life") with Kanye West (Nominated)[12]
* BET Hip Hop Awards[citation needed]
o 2009. Producer of the Year (Nominated)
o 2008, Best Ringtone ("Low") with Flo Rida (Nominated)
o 2008, Best Hip-Hop Video ("Good Life") with Kanye West (Won)
o 2008, Best Hip-Hop Collabo ("Low") with Flo Rida (Nominated)
o 2008, Best Hip-Hop Collabo ("Good Life") with Kanye West (Nominated)
o 2008, Track of the Year ("Good Life") with Kanye West (Nominated)
* BMI Urban Awards[citation needed]
o Song Writer Of The Year (Won)
o Producer Of The Year shared with J.R. Rotem & Kanye West (Won)
* Grammy Awards
o 2010, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("I'm on a Boat") with The Lonely
Island [Nominated]
o 2010, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or a Group ("Blame It")
with Jamie Foxx [Won]
o 2010, Best R&B Song ("Blame It") with Jamie Foxx [Nominated]
o 2010, Best Contemporary Album Thr33 Ringz [Nominated]
o 2009, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Got Money") with Lil Wayne
(Nominated)
o 2009, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Low") with Flo Rida (Nominated)
o 2009, Best Rap Song ("Low") with Flo Rida (Nominated)
o 2008, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group ("Bartender")
with Akon (Nominated)
o 2008, Best Rap/Sung Rap Song ("Good Life") With Kanye West (Nominated)
o 2008, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Kiss Kiss") with Chris Brown
(Nominated)
o 2008, Best Rap Song ("Good Life") with Kanye West (Won)[13]
* Ozone Music Awards[citation needed]
o 2008, TJ's DJ's Hustler of the Year (Nominated)
o 2008, Club Banger of the Year ("I'm So Hood") with DJ Khaled, Trick
Daddy, Rick Ross, & Plies (Nominated)
o 2008, Club Banger of the Year ("Low") with Flo Rida (Nominated)
o 2008, Best Rap/R&B Collaboration ("She Got It") with 2 Pistols & Tay
Dizm (Nominated)
o 2008, Best R&B Artist (Nominated)
o 2008, Best TJ's DJ's Tastemaker Award (Won)
o 2007, Best Male R&B Artist (Won)
o 2007, Best Rap/R&B Collaboration ("Shawty") with Plies (Won)
o 2007: Best Rap/R&B Collaboration ("Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" with
Yung Joc (Nominated)
o 2006, Best Rap/R&B Collaboration ("I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper) (Remix)" with
Twista, Pimp C, Paul Wall, R. Kelly, MJG, and Too Short) (Won)
* MTV Video Music Award
o 2008, Best Hip-Hop Video ("Low") with Flo Rida (Nominated)
o 2008, Best Male Video ("Low") with Flo Rida (Nominated)
o 2007, Monster Single of the Year ("Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin)"),
featuring Yung Joc (Nominated)
* People's Choice Awards
o 2008, Favorite Hip-Hop Song, "Low" with Flo Rida [Won]
o 2008, Favorite Hip-Hop Song, "Good Life" with Kanye West [Nominated]
* Teen Choice Awards
o 2008, Choice Hook-Up: Flo Rida Featuring T-Pain, "Low" (Nominated)
o 2008, Choice Music: R&B Artist - T-Pain (Nominated)
o 2008, Choice Music: Rap/Hip-Hop Track - Lil Mama featuring Chris Brown and
T-Pain, "Shawty Get Loose" (Won)
* Vibe Awards
o 2007, Best R&B Artist (Nominated)
o 2007, Best Collaboration ("Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin)") with
Yung Joc (Nominated)
o 2007, Song of the Year ("Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin)") with
Yung Joc (Won)