Southern hip-hop certainly has its charms. A group like, say, Outkast can reference the gangster culture without getting bogged down in it – outside New York and Los Angeles, that expectation just isn't there. And Dixie contributes a certain soul flavor you won't find elsewhere.This is evident, but only to a degree, on R&B crooner/rapper T-Pain's sophomore effort, Epiphany. The record kicks off with "Tallahassee Love," a synth-laden quasi-gangster track and of course a reference to 2Pac's "California Love."
Next comes the manic "Church," a funk-infused dance song with bright, stabbing guitars. Unfortunately, though, a cheesy, cheerleader-esque chanting section makes it a little embarrassing to listen to.
Another standout is "Suicide," a quiet and plaintive AIDS warning despite sometimes absurd lyrics ("I f---ed her / and didn't have a rubber on me," goes one particularly not-so-quiet-and-plaintive couplet).
The rest of the CD? Well, melodically, T-Pain is incredibly talented. The tracks benefit from stellar production, and they all dish out some pretty infectious yet soothing R&B attitude.
T-Pain falters lyrically, however. R&B has taken a nose dive in recent years, giving up the uplift of its classic years (T-Pain deserves credit for revisiting them in "Right Hand" and "Sounds Bad," the two closing tracks) in favor of coarse, rap-style street jive. It doesn't make much sense for nonstop profanity and locker-room sex talk to accompany a gentle beat and soulful singing, but that's exactly what permeates the radio.
As a result, T-Pain values thug rhymes over clever witticisms. The singer goes beyond gangsterism, but not very far – many of the songs deal with getting women drunk in bars and taking them home (or to Mr. Pain's car).
Is it worth a listen? Sure; it'll make the commute to work a little more bearable. But there's no reason to buy Epiphany instead of the latest CD from any other modern R&B artist.
Robert VerBruggen (http://www.therationale.com) is Assistant Book Editor at The Washington Times.
