Spring Concert headliner announced: T-Pain
By Ann Shelley // Opinion Editor
T-Pain has been announced as the performer for High Point University’s spring 2018 concert, and the student body is excited for this famous rapper to be at HPU. This Floridian native first started as a rapper in the group Nappy Headz.
T-Pain grew up in Tallahassee, Florida, and his original stage name was short for “Tallahassee Pain.” He turned his bedroom growing up into a studio using a keyboard, a beat machine and a four-track recorder. He got his first taste of the music business from a young age and has wanted to be part of it ever since.
T-Pain produces a lot of his own beats and has his own style of music with the pitch correlation. Much of his success can be attributed to start of Auto-Tone usage in the rapper community, which is becoming increasingly common across all commercial music.
The rapper has two Grammy awards and has released many albums throughout the years. His debut album, called “Rappa Ternt Sanga,” was released in 2005, followed by his second album “Epiphany” in 2007, which reached number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, and “Thr33 Ringz” in 2008.
He is currently on tour for his most recent album “Oblivion,” which released Nov. 17, 2017 and features other great artists like Chris Brown, Tiffany Adams, Mr. Talkbox, Manny G, Wale, Blac Youngsta, Ty Dolla $ign and Ne-Yo. T-Pain has had many successful songs on his own as well like these early 2000’s throwbacks, “I’m ’n Luv (Wit a Stripper),” “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin),” “Can’t Believe It” and “5 O’Clock.”
He has also been featured on dozens of other artists’ tracks, such as Pitbull’s “Hey Baby” (Drop It to the Floor), Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss,” Kanye West’s “Good Life,” Jamie Foxx’s “Blame it” and Flo Rida’s “Low.”
HPU is excited to host such an incredible and influential artist like T-Pain for the spring 2018 concert on April 13.