Xbox LIVE Artist of the Month Program

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Urban Artist of the Month:

T-Pain

Published November 3, 2008

T-Pain hasn't always had it so easy, hence his name. "I want to make sure that my kids live a good life," he says. "I don't want them to have to figure out the hard way what a food stamp is. I've slept in cars. I went through a lot in my life and I'm going to make sure that if somebody's life is in my hands that they're not going to have to go through that."

T-Pain.

T-Pain was noticed by the Jive label (of the Zomba group) in 2003 when he independently released the track "I'm Sprung." From there, he has released two top-selling albums, Rappa Ternt Sanga and Epiphany, and won a Grammy Award. Now, he unleashes on the public his self-produced third album, THR33 RINGZ.

"[The name of the album] came from people telling me that I'm running the game, that I'm the ringleader of the game," he says humbly. "That's where the whole circus imagery came from. I started putting it together with the idea that the circus is just like the music industry. You've got your different acts, all of the different animals, etc."

THR33 RINGZ releases November 11.

The numerous tracks on the album reflect all the highs and lows of T-Pain's life, featuring his signature use of the vocoder, and quite a few famous guest appearances. Ludacris, Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Akon, Mary J. Blige, and DJ Khaled all lend their own artistry to T-Pain's latest work. Long-time fans of T-Pain and those who are discovering him for the first time will be pleased with THR33 RINGZ. "You've got to be different and keep it consistent at the same time, which is super-hard to do," T-Pain says. "I come different every time and that's what people look for, what they expect."

Look for T-Pain videos on Xbox LIVE® Marketplace!