T-Pain
T-Pain Biography
Who ever coined the phrase "never judge a book by its cover" must have had a premonition about 20-year old singer/songwriter/rapper/producer T-Pain when they thought it up. At a time when image is considered just as important as vocal capability, T-Pain is introducing music fans to a new sound as well as a brand new look for R&B singers. T-Pain is unique.
Born Faheem Najm in Tallahassee, Florida to a pair of entrepreneur parents, T-Pain learned how to do things for himself as a youngster. At the tender age of ten he turned his bedroom into a mini sonic sanctuary with a keyboard, beat machine and four-track recorder. That same day he made a beat, rapped over it and he's been doing it ever since.
His first foray into music industry was a productive one. He was one-fifth of the rambunctious rap outfit Nappy Headz who enjoyed moderate success in the early 2000's with regional anthems "Robbery" and "F.L.A." Being that he is the middle of five children, he had no problem sharing the spotlight. But after the group's flame burned out he dreamed of pushing the envelope and earlier this year he delivered.
Disenchanted with the R&B he was hearing on the radio T-Pain flipped the script and started recording his own brand, called Hard & B, for his exclusive listening pleasure. As with most secrets, the word got out when a friend heard what he was making he relayed the message to 100.7 The Beat personality Felisha Foxx who asked for a copy of the CD. Impressed, she played the unplanned single "Time To Make Love" three times that night. Soon after, the song was added to the station's playlist.
T-Pain continued to fan his flames by recording as well as directing and editing the video for his street record "Fucked Up," a timely reworked version of Akon's prison life ode "Locked Up." The song grew so popular that some thought it was actually Akon who was borrowing from the dreadlocked songster. More than intrigued, the convict turned crooner reached out the young music maker and eventually singed him to his newly formed Konvict Music imprint. The first single from T-Pain's aptly-titled debut Rappa Ternt Sanga is the Roger Troutman-esque "I'm Sprung," a catchy, but far from cookie-cutter tune about the crazy that love, not lust, will make you do. T-Pain built the song from experience as he is now married to the woman that he wrote the song about.
His matchless songwriting skills shine through out the album, showing a rare range and compassion found in younger artists. Mid-tempo tracks like the cathartic "Going Through A Lot" leads listeners deeper into his musical psyche while the autobiographical "Fly Away" shares accounts of the relationship he has with his father. "You Not the Same" finds T-Pain pleading for a love interest to revisit the personality that he grew to appreciate. He also reveals truthful, and almost embarrassing, feelings for exotic dancers on the bravely stated "I’m In Love With A Stripper."
While his moniker, short for "Tallahassee Pain," was created to represent the struggle of growing up in the oft overlooked Florida state capitol, the self-admitted fast driver also has fun with his music. His energetic stage show is unrivaled, featuring the Rappa Ternt Sanga demonstrating his other passion, dancing.
Raised to be unapologetic and independent T-Pain is poised to be a threat to status quo of R&B music. Expect the music book with the rough looking cover to be on the bestsellers list for years to come.
T-Pain Biography 2
T-Pain (born Faheem Najm in Tallahassee, Florida in 1985) is an American hip-hop and R&B singer.
Faheem was born in Tallahassee, Florida to entrepreneur Muslim parents. At the age of ten, Faheem reworked his bedroom into a small studio with a Keyboard, beat machine and four track recorder, and began composing music.
T-Pain enjoyed moderate success with such hits as "Robbery" and "F.L.A.". This allowed T-Pain to jumpstart his career as a solo artist. In 2002 he founded his own label, Hard & B. and soon caught the spotlight as a solo artist when his song "F***ed Up", a reworked version of Akon's "Locked Up", gained popularity in the region. Akon noticed the song and signed T-Pain to his newly formed Konvict Muzik record label. T-Pain released his solo debut single, "I'm Sprung", in August 2005. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, was released on November 6, 2005, under Konvict Music. Hit singles "I'm Sprung" and "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" spawned official remixes titled "I'm Sprung 2" with Trick Daddy and the YoungBloodZ, and "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper), The Remix" with Twista, Pimp C, Paul Wall, R.Kelly, MJG and Too $hort. He is featured on E-40's 2006 summer hit single U and Dat along with Kandi Girl, which was produced by Lil Jon.
He has released a song for MySpace lovers, called "What's Yo Myspace" featuring Tay Dizm. He released a song with Florida Artist J-Shin, called "Send Me An E-Mail". The Video for the song was co-directed by T-Pain and Fellow Floridian filmmaker JOKES and co-starred "MySpace Queen" Tila Tequila. His new single is "Buy U a Drank" featuring Yung Joc, which he produced for his upcoming album Epiphany. The video for "Buy U A Drank" was released April 9th. It contains cameos by Jay-Z, Shawnna, and E-40.
Background information
Birth name : Faheem Najm
Also known as : T, Tally Pain, Teddy Pain, Tallahassee Pain, The Tallahassee Hero, Teddy Benderass, Teddy Penderass
Born : 1985
Origin : Tallahassee, Florida
Genre(s) : R&B, Hard & B, Rap
Occupation(s) : Singer, Rapper, Producer
Label(s) : Konvict Muzik/Jive
Associated acts : Akon
T-Pain discography
Albums
2005: Rappa Ternt Sanga
2007: Epiphany
Solo Singles
2005: "I'm Sprung"
2006: "I'm N Luv (Wit A Stripper)" (featuring Mike Jones)
2007: "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" (featuring Yung Joc)
Featured Singles
2006: "U and Dat" (E-40 featuring T-Pain & Kandi Girl)
2007: "I'm a Flirt [Remix]" (R. Kelly featuring T.I. & T-Pain)
2007: "Outta My System" (Bow Wow featuring T-Pain)\
2007: "Know What I'm Doin'" (Birdman & Lil Wayne featuring Rick Ross & T-Pain)
Style
T-Pain's music can best be pigeonholed as R&B, though both his musical style and lyrical quality deviate from the traditional platforms of the genre. T-Pain's lyrics are often very personal and compassionate, unusual for many of the artist's colleagues, and his music has a harder edge than the standard smooth sound of most R&B artists. T-Pain also experiments with the now world-famous "Crunk&B" style of music made famous by artists such as Ciara.
Contrary to popular belief, T-Pain does not achieve his robotic vocal sound using a vocoder. This is actually achieved using an auto-tuner, which is used often in a lot of todays music vocal recordings to correct out of tune vocals. Though he has yet to cite an official reason, speculation in the production community suggests this is due to his lack of ability to consistently reproduce the same tones.
T-Pain has collaborated with other known producers for Britney Spears' upcoming album, due in 2007
Guest Appearances
"U And Dat" (E-40 featuring T-Pain & Kandi Girl)
"On Bail" (Xzibit featuring The Game, Daz, & T-Pain)
"Know What I'm Doin'" (Birdman & Lil Wayne featuring T-Pain & Rick Ross)
"I Can't Wait" (Akon featuring T-Pain)
"Sent Me An E-Mail" (J-Shin featuring T-Pain)
"Outta My System" (Bow Wow featuring T-Pain)
"Ball Out ($500)" (BlakJak featuring T-Pain)
"Curious" (Lil Fizz featuring T-Pain)
"Cutty Buddy" (Trillville featuring T-Pain)
"Dance 4 Me" (T-Pain Remix) (Mark Morrison featuring T-Pain)
"Go Girl" (Snoop Dogg featuring T-Pain & Ciara)
"I'm A Flirt"(Remix) (R. Kelly featuring T-Pain & T.I.)
"Flip The Game On Them" (Luv featuring T-Pain)
"Shawty" (Plies featuring T-Pain)
"Shawty" (Webbie featuring T-Pain)
"Studio 54" (J-Bo featuring T-Pain)
"U Ain't Know" (Sean Paul featuring T-Pain)
"Cyclone" (Baby Bash featuring T-Pain)
"2 Step" (Remix) (Unk featuring T-Pain, Jim Jones, E-40)
"Pop, Lock And Drop It (Remix)" (Huey featuring Bow Wow & T-Pain)
"Who Is That" (Loon featuring T-Pain)
"She Got It" (2 Pistols featuring T-Pain)
Personal
T-Pain is currently married to his sweetheart, Amber, which the song "I'm Sprung," was written about. They have two children together.
T-Pain Official Website : http://www.t-pain.net
Sources: ejams.com, en.wikipedia.org