New Releases: T-Pain Plays Ringleader in ‘Thr33 Ringz’ Circus

If you thought that T-Pain was going to put his vocoder down for the ride that is 'Thr33 Ringz' you were wrong. If it isn't broke you shouldn't fix it. In fact you should grab a few of your chart-topping friends to make appearances and hope for the best. This is not only the theme of his third release but it's the un-spoken rule.

Thankfully everything on 'Thr33 Ringz' isn't as methodological as you might think from the T.I. assisted 'It Ain't Me' to 'Karaoke' where the singer calls on the help of DJ Khaled as he raps -- yes raps -- to his critics. Maybe it's Khaled who brings out the over-confidence in T-Pain but either way he tries his best to get at anyone who has a problem with his auto-tune.

Among the most hilarious parts of 'Thr33 Ringz' are the skits. Mainly the 'Ringleader Man' intro and the uncomfortable phone call on 'Reality Show' which transforms into a neo-funk mosh pit of a song adding Musiq Soulchild, Raheem Devaughn and Jay Lyriq. It's not what you would expect from T-Pain who is usually all about rap features but it's a welcomed deviation. 'Long Lap Dance' finds T-Pain getting back to his old tricks showing that he either can't get enough of strippers or is living vicariously through his own lyrics.

T-Pain songs equal "catchy" and "spin-worthy" and 'Thr33 Ringz' is filled with more than enough of those tracks. 'Chopped and Screwed' featuring Ludacris is sensual while 'Can't Believe It,' featuring Lil Wayne is so addictive is has to be illegal. No 'Thr33 Ringz' isn't as exciting as your first trip to 'Ringling Brothers' but there's enough creativity to request an encore.