T-Pain received multiple honors from his hometown of Tallahassee on Sunday, including a key to the city and a street named in his honor. The Grammy-winning artist celebrated with a concert attended by more than 4,000 fans on Nov. 10.
As a tribute to the rapper’s achievements, here are his four greatest songs:
- “Freeze” featuring Chris Brown. T-Pain is king when it comes to making music you can dance to, and this track from his classic third album “Three Rings” featured the best young dancer in the game at that time in Chris Brown. The song was bouncy and playful, showing the excellent chemistry Brown and T-Pain developed. While not as popular as their “Kiss Kiss” collaboration, it remains a classic nonetheless.
Standout bars: “Girl, I want ’em battle (battle)/Meet me downstairs (stairs)/Bring your dancin’ shoes and somethin’ to tie your hair (hair) ‘Cause I, ’cause I’m/About to break it down on you …”
- “I’m N Luv” featuring Mike Jones. T-Pain really gained his early popularity with his music about women, most particularly his love for strippers. He was making back-to-back strip club anthems, and “I’m N Luv (Wit A Stripper)” became his most popular. The song captures being enticed all night and spending way more money than anticipated.
Standout bars: “Got the body of a goddess/Got eyes butter pecan brown/I see you girl (droppin’ low)/She comin down from the ceiling …”
- “I’m Sprung”: This started it all for T-Pain. His debut song still sparks arguments that it’s his best, and that’s no slight to T-Pain – it shows the greatness and timelessness of “I’m Sprung.” Released in 2005, the song perfectly describes obsession, particularly being obsessed with someone you have no business dealing with.
Standout bars: “Anything she want for some kisses/I’m cookin’ for her when she gets hungry/All she doin’ is actin’ like she want me/She cuttin’ off all my homies …”
- “5 O’Clock” featuring Lily Allen and Wiz Khalifa. The greatest T-Pain song fits right into his signature style. Instead of a club anthem, he made the perfect end-of-night song. T-Pain captures the male perspective in his verses while Allen describes the female perspective during the chorus. With an all-time Wiz Khalifa verse added, it became his masterpiece.
Standout bars: “Cause you be sending me texts saying/Like boy just get your ass up in that car and come get all of this love/You ain’t got to remind me/She already said if I don’t come home on time she might go crazy/And she’ll be waiting on me naked with one of my chains on …”
