Finally! Just when I was losing hope for hip hop and feared losing it to all that is fun and down-syndrome inducing music (wow... I kind of feel like a 23 year old Joe Budden now... it's a shame), a beam of light flashed down from the Heavens and shined it's light on all that is mumble rap-y and boring; T-Pain put up an Instagram post talking about feeling really "spontaneous" and boy is the internet glad that he was not bluffing. T-Pain dropped the long awaited (like, so long awaited that new hip hop kids probably don't know the significance of the phrase "lemme buy you a drank") much anticipated T-Wayne album that has been talked about since around the times Lil Wayne was at the top and not considered some feature verse ghost (songs are rumored to have been recorded around 2009). The 8 track EP boasts tons of catchy T-Pain vocals and even more Wayne quotables, so it's time to dig in. Here's a couple cool observations from the EP.
Wayne and Pain's chemistry on records is on point
Obviously, the idea of T-Wayne had been in the heads of the fans for years, and in the heads of Wayne and T-Pain for even longer, so for them to craft a body of work - though small - without feeding off of each other's energy for each track, would be nothing short of a disappointment. T-Wayne delivers, however, from the intro track "He Rap He Sang", in which even the title suggests that the 2 will be boasting the other one throughout the song while still finding ways to let out their signature sounds, all the way down to "Heavy Chevy", where the instrumental goes all out cool-car'd classic on 'em.
T-Pain goes throwback "buy you a drank" T-Pain on "DAMN DAMN DAMN"
The title of this song is rather funny considering a couple of things... was T-Pain thinking out loud when he saw that girl in the club? Did Kendrick Lamar know something before the rest of us? Regardless, the coolest thing to point out about this record is T-Pain's "sexy enough to seduce a stripper" vocals on the track, very much reminiscent of "Buy You A Drank" as well with the slow dance-vibe-instrumental.
"Waist Of A Wasp" beat is already a certified classic instrumental
Though I know the statement above is definitely a stretch,"Waist Of A Wasp" sounds amazingly classic in it's instrumental, and the main reason probably being that the song was previously leaked in 2010, though the version that leaked was not the final version. Wayne glides all over this beat in classic fashion, and T-Pain vocally dances just as 2008 T-Pain would have done on the hook. Bouncy vibes, and a classic sounding beat that even the most technical of emcees could probably do something with; would it be a stretch to say "Dilla vibes"?
"Heavy Chevy" is the best song on T-Wayne
No debates on this one. Yep, I'm being ignorant Geff on this one, but I have a feeling that I won't feel so ignorant once I see some other feedback from this album. "Heavy Chevy" is such a vibe-heavy song (almost as heavy as a Chevy, dare I say?) that the instrumental is practically dripping candy paint and spilled codeine (though I do not condone any use of codeine, for the record). Wayne's "PLEASE TURN DOWN THE STEREO" line literally got me to laugh out loud, and being reminded of how creative and hilarious Wayne could be in his prime almost made me shed a thug tear. How many official remixes will come of this? Probably not the ones we want to come, if any, but if I could choose any other rappers I wish I could hear verses from over this beat, I'd easily go Big K.R.I.T and Bun B. The Houston vibes are real with this one, young O.G.
Overall, T-Wayne delivers a hit of nostalgia that hip hop right now is lacking, and I'd go as far to say that it is in need of it. It's great to hear Wayne having fun and doing his thing over beats again, and it might be safe to say that Wayne fans have something to hold them over while the wait for The Carter V continues (probably not safe to say though, with today's music indulgence). Could this project bring attention to T-Pain long enough to revamp his career? As you know, the inter webs are nothing that anybody could predict, so we shall see what the future brings for the auto-tune originator, and people will definitely be on the look out for what happens with Wayne and the current situation with his held-hostage album, The Carter V.
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