T-Pain – Thr33 Ringz

Jive 2008

Rating: 4/10

It’s hard to like anything T-Pain puts out beyond the superficial, sugary pop value of any of his numerous trivial pop singles, and that applies to the hip-hop world’s universal sidekick’s third album. Known mostly for his prevalent use of Auto-Tune, his ability to play the exact same role on every song he guests on, and his desire to buy women drinks, T-Pain doesn’t try to go any deeper than he normally does on Thr33 Ringz, wisely deciding to embrace his persona as a ringleader in a R&B circus surrounded by guest stars who save the album from being entirely an Auto-Tune lovefest.

Despite the whole Auto-Tune effect signaling the death knell of talented vocalists and authentic music, on certain songs, such as “Ringleader Man,” he doesn’t use it to the extent that he sounds like a robotic pop android, instead only subtly adjusting his pitch. Even better, more often than not the production is what you would expect from a record full of T-Pain; lilting slow jam grooves designed for the bedroom and bouncing, thumping club anthems, and when you hear the beat behind otherwise unremarkable songs like “Therapy” and “It Ain’t Me,” it makes up for the primarily lackluster lyrics and vocal performances.

T-Pain has truly called up all his old debts on Thr33 Ringz, as the guest stars include Kanye West, Akon, T.I., Lil Wayne, Ciara, DJ Khaled, and Chris Brown. In fact, it’s hard not to find a song without a guest spot, but that’s usually for the better. Some guest stars rescue an otherwise terrible song (Ludacris on the horrifically ADHD single “Chopped N Skrewed”), while others simply phone in a performance that sounds as generic as T-Pain himself (Lil Wayne on “Can’t Believe It” is a big offender).

Unfortunately, what really tend to drag this album down are the repetitiveness of the songs themselves, T-Pain’s one-track vocal style, and the decision to include a series of lame skits that only stunt the record’s momentum. Then again, most listeners don’t come to T-Pain and company looking for deep insights into life and love. And for the would-be club-goer and wannabe thug with a taste for melody and semi-romantic sentiments, Thr33 Ringz is a suitable enough album for one night.