Consumer Guide Album

T-Pain: Thr33 Ringz [Jive, 2008]
The erstwhile laughingstock finds himself in exceptionally good humor--wonder why. Detailing his fidelity on one track, elongating a lap dance on another, he's a decent guy in conceptual command of an aesthetic he invented. "Chopped N Skrewed," "Digital," "Karaoke"--he knows the score. He knows that when he puts away the Auto-Tune to emote a love song to his family, every breath, cough and finger-slip is a sound effect. B+