Customer Reviews

Epiphany

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

As if the bar hasnt been set low enough in the last few years of pop music TPain with songs like Im in love wit a stripper and Buy you a drank, has actually made the bar lower. I thought that would be impossible with acts like the Ying Yang Twins and numerous other hip hop acts already circulating but no, T has done it. In short, the dumbest most worthless music ever to grace the airwaves and otherwise. HIP HOP IS DEAD!

Should be the unabridged name of this artist. One listen you'll feel it too. Roger Troutman would be ashamed.

I was never too impressed by T-Pain because I felt he only made average songs, and his use of the vocoder was so forced that it seemed like he was trying a little too hard to emulate the late Roger Troutman (a notion later confirmed on THIS album with the intro, "Tallahassee Love", which bears more than a striking similarity to Tupac's "California Love"). And now here comes Epiphany, which is supposed to be a more mature album than Rappa Ternt Sanga. But is it?

Well, I never heard his first album, so I can't really compare, but one thing that surprises me is that T really can sing when he wants to (see the final track, "Sounds Bad"). But songs like "Church" and "Put It Down" made me decide that it was good that he stopped rapping; and another thing, I don't know if there are really guest rappers in these songs or if it's just T himself rapping in different voices. And the obligatory reggae crossover "Shottas" (with Kardinal Offishall and Cham) is really just a whole bunch of noise.

For the most part, there isn't a lot of variety on this album. T usually talks about either getting drunk or having sex -- actually, most of the time he talks about a little bit of both, like in "Buy U a Drank" and the filler track "Tipsy". What's more, a lot of the songs aren't very memorable, like "Yo Stomach", "69", or the badly produced "Backseat Action" (but T-Pain and Shawnna didn't sound like a winning combination anyway).

Even when T tries to change the subject, he still has problems. "Suicide" details life after finding out that his girl infected him with HIV, but as another reviewer said, that song could have been written a little better. And "Time Machine" is just retarded. In short, this is the kind of album that you should maybe listen to in the store rather than purchase (or don't stores allow that any more?) because Epiphany really isn't much of one.

Anthony Rupert

Tallahassee, Florida's T-Pain (A.K.A. Faheem Najm) delivers his sophomore album with "Epiphany" (2007) a seventeen track release which features appearances from Akon, Shawna, Ray, Tay Dizm, Yung Joc, J Lyriq, Kardinal Offishal & Cham (Teddy Verseti, Teddy Pain and Teddy Penderazdoun - are T-Pain alter-egos). Being a fan of Akon, I am interested in the artist's that are signed to his label Konvict Music. On his debut album "Rappa Ternt Sanga" T-Pain delivered two winning radio singles ( I'm Sprung, I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)), while to me the rest of the release was less then memorable. The lead single on this album is "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" a collaboration between T-Pain and Yung Joc - a simple but catchy track which has blown up on the radio. I was surprised to find myself liking this track, though I have read it borrow's a lot from other artists. Akon makes his sole appearance on the second single "Bartender", another smooth on point collaboration which vibes well. Outside of the single's this album has one other memorable track's - "I Got It" precedes the powerful "Suicide". The first track has a man learning that he and his loved one have HIV, while the later track is about the aftermath and the choices they take. Outside of these track's the rest of the album does not grab my attention - T-Pain is not a memorable rapper (and should really leave it alone) and falters at times in his singing, and the guest he enlists for this release (outside of the singles) do not enhance the album. "Epiphany" is an average release which features some decent singles.

This guy (along with every other new rapper/r&b artist--I'm looking at you Acorn and 50!) are totally destroying rap music. Doesn't anyone have ANYTHING of any substance to say anymore? How many songs can we have about bling, and getting your drink on with your shorty at the bar or the club???? What happened to lyrical skills? Are you telling me there is nothing left to talk about except cash and girls?

Such a shame this is the stuff that sells now. Nowadays if it can't be played in a club for white girls to dance to it won't sell!!

I suggest you download the new Black Sheep album 8WM/Novokane and listen to the first song...its paints an exact picture of what has happened to this once groundbreaking genre in music.

I have a grasp of the english language that is so awe-inspiring that it leaves you numb. That is why releases like this one really annoy me. Can we go ahead and retire the word "shawty"? It's a dumb word and I don't like it. I also think it is dumb to buy someone a "drank". This kind of stuff makes kids talk like they have not ever been to school. I know these kids go to school and Mr. Pain probably went to school at some point. His teacher right now is unhappy because he uses words that his teacher did not teach him.

The beats on this? Average. The lyrics? Average. The grammar? Well below average. I can't give this thing stars for setting the king's english back. Average and I went roller skating in 1985. I haven't seen average since.

So I joined the bandwagon and bought EPIPHANY. Why you ask? Well my friends, "Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin')" was bumping and it was one of the most undeniably catchy (as well as stupid) songs of 2007. I couldn't resist. I'm not a big fan of "clubby" R&B albums, but sometimes i give into guilty pleasures. In some respects with EPIPHANY (which I have to agree with one of the reviewers that this is no "epiphany" by any means), I wish I'd let the album itself pass by and just downloaded "Buy U A Drank". But I had to indulge and I can't help to say that ultimately EPIPHANY is a disappointment. Then, you also have to think mentally, that with such club-savvy artist as T-Pain, Akon, and sometimes R. Kelly (though excluding nis great new album DOUBLE UP), that the club-centric albums only tend to have one hit. Sure, EPIPHANY is good for a couple of worthy numbers (first single and "Church" to name a few), but overall, it is nothing but a mess. Sure, I'm happy T-Pain surprised everybody to take the #1 spot on the Billboard charts, hold back both Rihanna and expected chart-topper Paul McCartney, but still you wonder if people were expecting a real "epiphany" for the money. Oh well.

The album begins with the introductory track, "Tallahassee Love" in which T-Pain not only defines "epiphany" but also gives love back to his hometown, Tallahassee. It is completely unnecessary, as with most intro tracks, but it is actually better than some of the full length tracks on EPIPHANY. "Church" has the most undeniably catchy groove of EPIPHANY with an incredibly soulful guitar riff, tropical sounding drum-programming, and random interspersed "rah!" during the verse. Vocally, T-Pain sounds top notch, even if he is halfway between singing and rapping. T-Pain sounds among the hardest ever when he sings: "***damn, you think you cool, you think I'm not, you think you're tough, ***damn, you think you're hard, you think I'm soft, you think you're rough... I'm gonna have to take you're a** to church..." Sure the song's ridiculous, but it is worthy of spins in the CD player. "Tipsy" features overall repetitive, but sound production work, with an undeniably catchy sounding synth-line. Sure the track lacks substance, but it is the same man who took "I'm N Luv Wit A Stripper" to #6 on the pop charts. "Show U How" is plain annoying and odd, though the hook is well performed. "Suicide" is perhaps T-Pain's first attempt at being serious (it is a song about AIDS), but he falls short, particularly when he uses clumsy lines as "cause I f***** her/ and didn't have a rubber on me." Sure, it is a worthy enough track, but again, it comes over cornier than it ultimately should.

Second single "Bartender" tries to bank on the success of the great "Buy You a Drank", but it also falls short. It isn't bad, but the repetitive piano loop doesn't quite sell as well as the great "Buy You A Drank". Sure, T-Pain jacks his discoverer Akon, but it still doesn't make "Bartender" as top-notch as the inescapable first single. "Backseat Action" features mammoth drums supporting T-Pains heavily produced vocals (that stupid vocal effect again) and proves to be one of this albums few stronger tracks. "Put It Down" is solid as well, making it look like EPIPHANY might have a stab at redeeming itself after a number of misses via "Show U How" or even the utter unconvincing nature of "Suicide". "Put It Down" actually has some very nice moments, even moreso than "Backseat Action". "Time Machine" is a miss, while "Yo Stomach" is OK. "Buy You a Drink" almost comes too late, and is followed by misses that continue all the way to the end of the album ("69", "Shottas", "Right Hand", and finally "Sounds Bad").

It's unfortunate for T-Pain because had he bottled the best of EPIPHANY and perhaps written songs with more substance not so focused on sex or the strip-club, he may have truly had his FIRST epiphany. Sure at times, EPIPHANY is on the edge of at least being average, but with so many misses and with numerous unconvincing moments and a title such as EPIPHANY, a listener can't help but rip on T-Pain. More substance in the future please - you are a talented rapper and vocalist. 2 stars.

T-Pain. This is exactly the type of hip-hop that making what was once a creative and fun genere, into a lousy and laughable mess. There is nothing creative at all about this artist, and he sounds no different then the any of other rappers from the south. First off, Southern hip-hop is not for everyone, as it does have a bit more of a unique sound, but the problem with it is that most of the artist have such a simlilar delivery that makes it hard to figure out a whos who. The huge problem that I have with T-Pain is when he mixes in his so-called slow jams, which is the biggest, heaping pile of doggie doo that I have ever heard since New Kids on the Block. I give the boy bands of the 80's and 90's more credit though. They might not have wrote their own songs, and the lyrics were beyond cheesy, but T-Pain takes the cake of the most talentless and revolting off them all. First off, how much talent does it take to run your voice through a synth box or whatever other effects he is using? I mean every slow jam, the same effect, the same tone, sounds just like the teacher in Charlie Brown. Wah, Wahhh, Wahhwaaa.. Even in metal, espcially death metal, at least the singers/screamers create their grunts and groans naturally without effects. The use their stomachs to create the growls, and their throats for some of the higher end shrills, but almost all dont use voice EQ's or electric harmoniziers. Every single slow jam sounds exactly the same way and it is revolting. It makes me cringe that this guy is all over the airwaves of hip-hop stations (the only reason I even turn on the hip-hop station is to listen to the old school shows that they run, but tune in 15min early or listen to the radio, and somewhere this wind bag will be on the dial, making my ears bleed. Please, why in gods name did this bag of wind get signed? I am sure that others will argue with me and say well why listen to it if you dont like hip-hop.( from judging my reviews, you see metal as my favorite) I do like hip-hop, and I am always trying to find some more modern artist that are good(Common, Kayne West as two of the better modern hip-hop artist). Its very difficult, as there are only a handful, as hip-hop gets ruined by this. And No, thank God I didnt buy this, but I heard it through downloads just to see if it was really that bad, and it is. Hopefully this junk will stop getting record-deals, and making room for artist that actually have talent. Jive records, one of the older hip-hop labels that once had the recordings of A tribe Called Quest, Spice 1, and Too Short, should hang its head in shame.

I only bought this album for the hit single Buy you a drink. And its funny because thats the only jammin' song on there ! Thank God I bought it bootleg for 3 bucks because its not worth the retail price!( Yeah Yeah I know alot of people may look down on others that buy or sell bootleg copies of cd's but hey if the artist only drops one hot single and nothing else what can you expect! Im sure as hell not gonna chance all my money for a cd that dont jam!)

It's said that T-Pain (Faheem Najm) recorded a personal take one of Akon's songs and when Akon heard it, he immediatly signed him to his Konvict label. T-Pain's debut album "Rappa Ternt Sanga" he managed to get 2 top 10 hits with "I'm Sprung" and "I'm N Luv (Wit A Stripper)" with Mike Jones. His topics are neither very deep or multiple. Basically he dealt with sex and clubbing on most of the songs and apart from these 2 hits, the rest of the album wasn't that special. But T-Pain appeared on countless of other artists albums, mostly singing hooks and he suddenly became a in-demand artist in the R&B world. T-Pain is mostly a R&B singer but he's occasionally a rapper aswell kind of like Akon, but T-Pain uses a vocoder to generate his voice, kind of like Roger Troutman did in the 80's with Zapp and what Cher did on her megahit "Believe". Unfortunately T-Pain overuses this tecnique to the point that it gets redundant and un-natural and it makes you wonder wether he would be as fascinating without?. I'll see wether his sophmore album offers more then his debut.

His sophmore album is tited "Epiphany" but I don't know why cause there isn't anything religious or serious by this album at all. It seems like it follows the formula of his debut in detail. Just like his debut album it also got 2 hit singles, mainly the overplayed "Buy U a Drank" with Young Joc reaching #1 that a club song that deals with getting tipsy and hooking up with ladies. The other song is called "Bartender" (with Akon) and is almost "I'm N Luv (Wit A Stripper)" Part 2 but ex-changing the Stripper for Bartender. Both are decent club songs but with nonsense lyrics but I doubt most people care aslong as they're catchy. After that the album is flooded with mediocracy. Another song about drinking called "Tipsy". Songs like "Backseat Action", "69" and "Yo Stomach" deal with what you think they deal about. "Tallahassee Love" is a song about his hometown and "Time Machine" about traveling to another world, but it's really silly, "Church" is a fastpaced song that doesn't seem to be about a church at all. Here we find Teddy Verseti, one of several T-Pain alter ego's that are featured on this album, Teddy Pain, and Teddy Penderazdoun are the others but all of those lyrics and sang by T-Pain and no one else. A failed attempt to crossover on the reggae inspired "Shottas" with Kardinal Offishall is bad while the only serious songs seems to be "Right Hand" about sticking to a woman and the phonecall interlude "I Got It" where his woman calls him up and tells him that she got HIV and he may have it too. As serious and sensitive as the issue is it feels missplaced on an album where half of the songs deals with clubbing, drinking and to have sex.

Overall, T-Pain doesn't offer much variety of songs nor in topics. Many songs sound like they could have been the same song and few offer much depth in lyrics and I still kind of wonder what he would be without that vocoder as his gimmick?. Let just be honest, his hits are cool and fun for the moment but will be forgotten quickly and T-Pain works well as a colourful sidekick for other artists but when it comes to his own alhums he's inadequate and his ideas one-sided. Ofcourse he doesn't get much help from Konvict Music in production nor guest spots, maybe this is why he created three alter egos?. But T-Pain ends up as a poor mans R. Kelly making Akon B-sides with a fetish for Roger Troutman's vocoder. Seing that this album debuted at #1 on the album charts I feel sorry for others that bought it with the impression that it was something else, cause it's bad really bad.