ARTIST: T-Pain
TITLE: Thr33 Ringz
WEB DEBUT: Nov. 6, 2008
RELEASE DATE: Nov. 11, 2008

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: A side effect of the singles-based music economy that few people comment on: It’s harder to get excited for the drop date of a full-length album, thanks to half its tracks being trickled out in advance. Five of the twelve songs on Thr33 Ringz have been released as singles in some way (available on iTunes, released videos) for them already, so if you’ve heard those, you have a pretty good idea of what the album sounds like. Actually, if you’ve heard even the most fleeting glimpse of a T-Pain song, you have a good idea of what his third disc sounds like. The circus theme wears thin really quickly–perhaps even right after the album’s extended introduction–but the idea of T-Pain as ringmaster makes sense, what with most tracks featuring collaborators like Chris Brown, Ludacris (whose verse on “Chopped and Screwed” returns his to contention for “Rapper You Must Want A Guest Appearance By”), Lil Wayne, and Kanye West. The beats are solid and fun, ready to blow out your vehicle of choice’s speakers without being too serious at any point; attention shifts from one flashy moment to another without much dramatic tension. Nothing on this album reaches the heights of T-Pain’s best productions, which seem to be sold to the highest R&B bidders these days, but overall, if you haven’t been annoyed by T-Pain’s ubiquity yet–a decision that you’ve no doubt already made–Thr33 Ringz will slip into your personal playlist just fine.

T-Pain [MySpace]