T-Pain’s music is synonymous with the “Good Life” – and not just the feature off Graduation. It’s a swift reminder of stress-free, relaxing times in the club, with your lover, or sailing the open waters (nothing more direct than the parody song “I’m On a Boat.”) But in the case of the Florida singer’s TP20 Tour stop in Houston, we needed a bigger boat. The crowd of nostalgic millennials was so jam-packed on the White Oak Music Hall Lawn, there was overflow tracking back to the security entrance. T-Pain acknowledged this on stage, as well as the limitations presented by performing at an outdoor venue flanked by residential areas – such as a curfew and a decibel limit. But alas, the Rappa ternt Sanga ran through nearly 40 classics, features, covers, fan favorites, and club bangers to create a perfectly soothing, soul-cleansing performance for those in need of a Tuesday evening refresher.
Entering the stage in a bedazzling lime green studded suit, he began the set strong and undeterred with classics like “I’m Sprung,” and “Booty Wurk.” He remixed one of his most popular songs “Up Down” to the Dr. Dre beat “The Next Episode.” Live remixing, usually reserved for club DJs, would be a common theme of T-Pain’s throughout the night. After this first block of songs, he cracked a few jokes to the crowd regarding age, and how day one fans “should be in bed by now.” He also reflected on the 20 years of his professional career, and his gratitude for not going “industry crazy” by this point.
The second block of songs (the feature block) was the most questionable, with a flurry of songs that I either did not know or was not fond of (R. Kelly’s I’m a Flirt is hard to stomach in any capacity). What sustained the momentum of the crowd, in my opinion, was some impressive and energetic dancing from T-Pain and his crew, as well as the unexpected remixes (FE!N/Kiss Kiss), (Girls Want Girls/5 O’Clock) and the fast-paced rapping of other artists’verses (Desiigner – “Panda”, Waka Flocka – “No Hands”, and Ludacris – “All I Do Is Win”) that really demonstrated the creativity of a good live performance. This led to the core of the show, where T-Pain belted off classics like “Bartender,” “Can’t Believe It,” and “I’m in Luv (Wit a Stripper),” fueling the crowd into a karaoke frenzy.
In the grand scheme of music history, T-Pain will likely be remembered most for popularzing auto-tune in the use of music. While some see this as a positively unique contribution, others observe the modern landscape of hip-hop and see it as a detriment to the nature of talent in music. T-Pain first deviated from this sound in an effort to prove haters wrong on the Masked Singer, where he won first place. A few years later, he released a studio album On Top of the Covers, and later an intimate live performance with extended tracks, remaking classics like “Tennessee Whiskey,” “War Pigs,” and “Stay With Me” into songs of his own cadence. Continuing the theme of celebration and proving doubters wrong for the TP20 Tour, he had a six-song block of covers that included “Don’t Stop Believin’,” “This is How We Do It,” “American Woman,” “I Don’t Want to Be” (an apparent banger by Gavin Degraw that I was not familiar with prior to the show), “I Love Rock ‘N Roll,” and “War Pigs.” T-Pain, again reflecting on his career, mentioned that he saw himself in the game for another 20 years, presumably with a more “natural” voice and as the head of Nappy Boy Entertainment, the conglomerate that combines music with gaming, podcasting, cars, and more.
The last part of the show was a dedicated shoutout to club culture, with bangers like “Shots,” “Hey Baby,” “Low,” and Buy U a Drank” cementing the singer’s inescapable radio legacy. At the end of the show, the artist left us with a few rules of wisdom. Don’t do anything T-Pain wouldn’t do, try half of something before you try all (i.e. drugs), and take accountability for your own actions. If there’s one thing I learned from the show, it’s that you simply cannot put the Grammy-winning artist in a box, and I hope to see him make authentic contributions across his interest and business dimensions as time marches on.
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