T-Pain's 2005 debut album "Rappa Ternt Sanga" minted two huge urban hits with "I'm Sprung" and "I'm In Luv With a Stripper." It also introduced his trademark vocal stylings, which are often processed through a vocoder for a slightly robotic feel in the vein of the late Roger Troutman, front man of the funk outfit Zapp. "Epiphany" goes further to reveal T-Pain as a multi-faceted artist who might actually be around for a while.
Comparisons to Troutman are courted on the opener "Tallahassee Love," where T-Pain shouts out his Florida hometown in a song patterned after Troutman's famed "California Love" (later appropriated by Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre). From there, T-Pain asserts his individuality and talent, producing an array of cohesive yet eclectic beats as well as rhyming and singing in styles ranging from R&B and rap to dancehall reggae.
Despite being nearly half the age of label mate R. Kelly and appearing on Kelly's current hit single "I'm a Flirt," T-Pain opts for a more mature and classy approach to writing songs about sex, whether mourning a lover's death to AIDS in "Suicide" or simply flirting with a stranger in "Buy U a Drank." But vigorous tunes like "Backseat Action," with its boot-knockin' beats, are evidence that he might be almost as preoccupied as Kelly with the subject. And his gift for crafting memorable melodies is just as apparent.
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