If you haven't already heard, T-Pain stepped up to the plate to replace Katt Williams as this year's host of the BET Hip Hop Awards. Soul Rebel was there to see the show, and as much as I hate to admit it - T-Pain not only has his ish together, I am ready to declare him as THE MOST INFLUENTIAL ARTIST of the current music landscape. Feel free to throw tomatoes if you disagree, the proof is not just in the pudding, it's in the music that is currently on the charts and the music that is slated to hit the streets shortly.
All the rappers want to be singers these days. Think about it. Just a few years ago 50 Cent murdered Ja Rule's career by talking about his penchant for singing, but these days ALL the rappers are doing it -- Snoop Dogg, Kanye West, sheeeeeeet I know you never thought T.I. would be a singer but now he'll sing "whatever you like!" Check out some of your favorite rappers trying to make career changes below:
Snoop Dogg "Sensual Seduction"
Let's be real. When Snoop Dogg set it off with "Sexual Eruption/Sensual Seduction" what sounded like a joke initially turned into a huge hit. Before that folks were getting kinda tired of Auto-Tune but he revived the trend that T-Pain introduced and now it seems like there is no end in sight for rappa ternt sangas.
Lil' Wayne "Lollipop"
They work together so much ("Got Money," "Can't Believe It") they call themselves T-Wayne. Weezy F. Baby has definitely become one singing ass rapper, and oh yeah, he's not afraid to use Auto-Tune on his gremlin voice either!
Kanye West "Love Lockdown"
Perhaps the biggest T-Pain victim of all -- after collaborating with the Auto-Tune maestro on "Good Life," Kanye has made the vocoder his best friend and announced plans to release 808's and Heartbreak - his all-singing 4th solo album - next month. It's an ambitious plan, but Kanye has some of the biggest stans out, so if he goes Andre 3000 for awhile he will still probably go platinum. Out of the songs I've heard so far ("Coldest Winter," "Heartless," "Love Lockdown") "Heartless" is the one that appeals to me the most, but I'm going to reserve judgment for when the full album drops.
Plies "Bust It Baby"
Whoever thought a goon like Plies would have a soft and warm R&B side? But after teaming up with Pain himself he collabo'd with the tangiest singer out - Ne-Yo in an ode to bus' it babies. How sweet!
T.I. "Whatever You Like"
Alright so the T-Pain influence might not be so clear - but you can't tell me T.I. isn't singing on this song. I don't think he raps a single bar -- the ENTIRE SONG is sung. AND it's not the only song on Paper Trail full of singing -- there's "Live Your Life," "Dead and Gone" and "On Top Of The World" just to name a few other instances. Obviously he is trying to keep up with Teddy-Pinned-Her-Ass-Down.
Now, I also have to mention that Ghostface Killah is working on an R&B album, or rather, an album of R&B collabos -- something he's been doing well for years, so I'll admit that one probably has nothing to do with T-Pain. Still, I think I've presented more than enough evidence to prove T-Pain really started something.
What's your favorite T-Pain collaboration? What do you think about rappers jumping in the R&B lane?
