Listen to T-pain on Batanga

Multi-talented T-Pain has tried his hand at singing, song writing, rapping and producing. T-Pain, real name Faheem Najm, started making music when he was just 10-years-old when he got hold of a keyboard, beat machine, and four-track recorder - he created a beat and made up a rap to it – and hasn't stopped crafting music since.

T-Pain (whose stage name is short for 'Tallahassee Pain' and represents the struggle he faced growing up) his recording careers as a member of the moderately successful five-man rap group Nappy Headz in the early 'noughties', who had regional hits with their singles "Robbery" and "F.L.A". When the group disbanded, T-Pain decided to become a solo performer.

He created a new sound called Hard & B, but kept the tracks just for himself. Fortunately, a friend heard the tracks and gave the CD to radio presenter Felisha Foxx. Felisha was so impressed with what she heard, she played one track three times on air in one night. It also proved a hit with listeners and the song soon become a fixture on the station (100.7) playlist.

T-Pain went public with his new sound, recording, directing and editing the video to his record "F**ked Up" – an 'answer' to Akon's prison-themed hit "Locked Up". The song become so popular that many listeners thought Akon must have reworked T-Pain's song. Akon himself was impressed with the track and asked him to sign to his brand new Konvict Music label.

T-Pain's debut album, "Rappa Ternt Sanga", was released in 2005 and reached number 33 on the US charts. It's official lead single was called "I'm Sprung" and reached number eight on the US Hot 100. The album featured varied tracks like the deep "Going Through A Lot", autobiographical "Fly Away", and the self-explanatory "I’m In Love With A Stripper" (featuring Mike Jones) – another hit which reached number five on the chart.

T-Pain will undoubtedly continue to shake up the R&B world with his experimental music for many, many years to come.