Epiphany (T-Pain album)

Epiphany
Studio album by T-Pain
Released	June 5, 2007 (See release history)
Recorded	2006–07
Genre	R&B, hip hop
Length	56:09
Label	Nappy Boy, Konvict, Jive
Producer	T-Pain
T-Pain chronology
Rappa Ternt Sanga (2005) Epiphany (2007) Thr33 Ringz (2008)
Singles from Epiphany
"Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" Released: February 20, 2007 "Bartender" Released: June 5, 2007 "Church" Released: October 2, 2007

Epiphany is the second studio album by American record producer and recording artist T-Pain. It was released on June 5, 2007, by his record label Nappy Boy Entertainment, distributed by Akon's label Konvict Muzik and Jive Records. The album marks as his first for T-Pain; who is launching his own record label Nappy Boy Entertainment.

Music and lyrics

The fifth track "I Got It" describes as a skit of people whose been diagnosed with HIV. The sixth track "Suicide" is a song describing the people, whose been dealing within having some suicidal thoughts, after detailing the subject of being diagnosed with HIV; upon the previous track "I Got It".

Singles

The album's lead single, "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" was released on February 20, 2007. With its production was handled by T-Pain. The song features guest vocals from a fellow southern hip hop rapper Yung Joc. The song has peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming his highest-charting single as a lead artist.

The album's second single, "Bartender" was released on June 5, 2007. The song features guest vocals from musician Akon, while its produced by T-Pain; whom produced this recent song and his first single, "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')". The song has peaked at number 5 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
HipHopDX	[2]
PopMatters	[3]
Prefix	(2.0/10.0)[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Sputnikmusic	(3.5/5.0)[6]

Epiphany received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who drew comparisons to fellow R&B singer R. Kelly.

• Gentry Boeckel of PopMatters credited T-Pain on his production and use of various characters on the songs he wrote. He also said that his career will last more than other past R&B artists like Case, Joe and Tyrese concluding with, "T-Pain does seem posed for more success than those other guys. He may even be worth the verbiage, too."^[3]

John Hanson of Sputnikmusic also praised the album for its production complimenting the songs (specifically the singles) saying, "T-Pain is starting to establish himself as a lasting source of entertainment in the vein of R. Kelly."^[6]

• Meka Udoh of HipHopDX credited songs like "Time Machine" and "Suicide" for bringing out a semi-serious T-Pain but was put off by his use of multiple characters throughout the album saying, "While Epiphany has its moments, it is also its schizophrenic nature that bogs the album down."^[2]

David Jeffries of AllMusic questioned the album being 'mature', finding that side not mixing together with the party side of T-Pain's music.^[1] Norman Mayers of Prefix criticized the album for bringing out "the worst stereotypes of black music and culture" in the R&B genre saying, "Epiphany is a profound statement on the poor quality and embarrassing content found in mainstream urban music."^[4]

Commercial performance

Epiphany debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 171,126 copies in its first week. To date, the album has sold 819,000 copies in the United States.^[7][8]

Track listing

• All tracks produced by T-Pain

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Tallahassee Love" (featuring J Lyriq)	2:04
2.	"Church" (featuring Teddy Verseti)	4:01
3.	"Tipsy"	3:09
4.	"Show U How" (featuring Teddy Verseti and Teddy Penderazdoun)	3:14
5.	"I Got It"	1:54
6.	"Suicide"	2:58
7.	"Bartender" (featuring Akon)	3:58
8.	"Backseat Action" (featuring Shawnna)	3:39
9.	"Put It Down" (featuring Ray Lavender, Teddy Verseti and Teddy Penderazdoun)	3:40
10.	"Time Machine"	2:52
11.	"Yo Stomach" (featuring Tay Dizm)	4:18
12.	"Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" (featuring Yung Joc)	3:47
13.	"69" (featuring J Lyriq)	3:25
14.	"Reggae Night"	1:37
15.	"Shottas" (featuring Kardinal Offishall and Cham)	3:14
16.	"Right Hand"	3:13
17.	"Sounds Bad"	5:06
Total length:		56:09

iTunes bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
18.	"Calm the Fuck Doun"	4:03
19.	"Let the Bass Drop"	4:55

Sample credits

• "Tallahassee Love" contains a sample of "California Love" performed by 2Pac featuring Dr. Dre.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2007) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[9] 96 Japan (Oricon)[10] 72 US Billboard 200[11] 1 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12] 1

Year-end charts Chart (2007) Position US Billboard 200[13] 62 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[14] 21

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)[15]	Gold	500,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Denmark[16]	June 1, 2007	Digital download, CD	Jive Records
United Kingdom[17]
Canada[18]	June 2, 2007
Japan[19]
Australia[20]	June 4, 2007
United States[21]	June 5, 2007

See also

• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2007
• List of Billboard number-one R&B albums of 2007

References

1. Jeffries, David. "Epiphany - T-Pain". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved August 4, 2011.
2. Udoh, Meka (July 9, 2007). "T-Pain - Epiphany". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
3. Boeckel, Gentry (September 17, 2007). "T-Pain: Epiphany". PopMatters. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
4. Mayers, Norman (July 19, 2007). "Album Review: T-Pain - Epiphany". Prefix. Prefix Media Inc. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
5. Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived July 26, 2008)
6. Hanson, John (November 10, 2007). "T-Pain - Epiphany (album review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
7. Katie Hasty, "T-Pain Soars To No. 1 Ahead Of Rihanna, McCartney", Billboard.com, June 13, 2007.
8. "New T-Pain Album Due In Late September". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-02-15.
9. "ARIA Report 979" (PDF). Pandora.nla.gov.au. Retrieved March 9, 2012.
10. "Ｔ－ＰＡＩＮのCDアルバムランキング、Ｔ－ＰＡＩＮのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
11. "T-Pain – Chart history" Billboard 200 for T-Pain. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
12. "T-Pain – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for T-Pain. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
13. "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2007". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
14. "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - 2007". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
15. "American album certifications – T-Pain". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
16. "iTunes - Music - Epiphany by T-Pain". iTunes (DK). Apple. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
17. "iTunes - Music - Epiphany by T-Pain". iTunes (GB). Apple. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
18. "iTunes - Music - Epiphany by T-Pain". iTunes (CA). Apple. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
19. "iTunes - ミュージック - T-Pain「Epiphany」". iTunes (JP). Apple. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
20. "iTunes - Music - Epiphany by T-Pain". iTunes (AU). Apple. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
21. "iTunes - Music - Epiphany by T-Pain". iTunes (US). Apple. Retrieved March 7, 2015.

Further reading

• T-Pain in-depth interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' February 2008