Three Ringz

Three Ringz
Studio album by T-Pain
Released November 11, 2008[1]
Recorded 2007–08
Genre Hip hop, R&B
Length 60:35 (Standard)
73:08 (Deluxe)
Label Nappy Boy, Konvict, Jive, Zomba
Producer T-Pain (exec.), Akon (exec.) Rocco Valdes (exec.)
T-Pain chronology
Epiphany
(2007)		 Three Ringz
(2008)		 The Instrumentals
(2009)
Alternative cover
Import edition cover
Singles from Thr33 Ringz
  1. "Can't Believe It"
    Released: July 29, 2008
  2. "Chopped 'n' Skrewed"
    Released: September 23, 2008
  3. "Freeze"
    Released: October 10, 2008

Three Ringz (stylized as Thr33 Ringz) is the third studio album by American hip hop recording artist and producer T-Pain. It was released on November 11, 2008, by his label Nappy Boy Entertainment (under the distribution of Akon's label Konvict Muzik, Jive Records, and Zomba Label Group). It was supported by three singles: "Can't Believe It" featuring Lil Wayne, "Chopped 'n' Skrewed" featuring Ludacris, and "Freeze" featuring Chris Brown.

The album debuted at number 4 on the US Billboard 200. The album received mixed to favorable reviews from music critics. The album was nominated for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards, but lost to Beyoncé's I Am... Sasha Fierce.

Singles

The album's lead single, called "Can't Believe It" was released on July 29, 2008. The track features guest vocals from a fellow American hip hop recording artist Lil Wayne. with the production provided by T-Pain. The song peaked at number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The album's second single, called "Chopped 'n' Skrewed" was released on September 23, 2008. The song features guest vocals from American rapper Ludacris, with the production, which once again was provided by T-Pain. The song has been reached at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

The album's third and final single, "Freeze" was released on October 10, 2008. The song features guest vocals from American recording artist Chris Brown, with the production provided by T-Pain. The song peaked at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Promotional singles

T-Pain released "Ringleader Man" as the album's promotional single.[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Daily News[4]
Billboard(Favorable review)[5]
Village Voice(Favorable review)[6]
The Guardian[7]
RapReviews[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Slant Magazine[10]
Spin[11]
USA Today[12]

Three Ringz received positive reviews; however, many music critics questioned T-Pain's continued usage of Auto-Tune and his delivery of the club tracks. Jesel Padania of RapReviews said that despite the album's lack of humor and some tracks falling short of previous efforts, he praised T-Pain's genre-hopping production and his chemistry with the guest artists.[8] David Jeffries of AllMusic also found the humor hit or miss but praised the album's production, guest list and T-Pain's persona for giving the tracks energy to grab listeners' attention, calling it "an otherwise entertaining example of the gimmick-filled R&B/hip-hop album done right."[3] Eric Henderson of Slant Magazine praised tracks like "Can't Believe It" and "Freeze" for their production and catchiness but questioned whether T-Pain could move beyond his Auto-Tune crutch, concluding that "T-Pain’s got the pop credentials. It’s just a pity that this entire album is drenched in what already sounded like last year’s sound a couple years ago."[10]

J. Gabriel Boylan of Spin criticized T-Pain for utilizing the same old tricks and delivery he had used on previous works before, concluding that "With a hot guest list (Ciara, T.I.), this is bound to bump the clubs, but beyond that, it’s clown time."[11] Elysa Gardner of USA Today found the album's songs about women off-putting and disgusting, and said that more empathy and tenderness would help this album, concluding that "Ringz doesn’t offer enough wit or insight to mitigate its rancor, or make it terribly interesting."[12]

Commercial performance

Three Ringz debuted at number 4 on the US Billboard 200, selling 167,700 copies in the first week.[13] The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling 700,000 copies in the United States.[14]

Track listing

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Welcome to Thr33 Ringz (Intro)"  Faheem Najm, Frank Romano, Eddie Griffin 2:27
2. "Ringleader Man"  Najm, Johnny Smith 2:54
3. "Chopped 'n' Skrewed" (featuring Ludacris)Najm, Christopher Bridges 4:21
4. "Take a Ride (skit)"  Najm 1:45
5. "Freeze" (featuring Chris Brown)Najm, Christopher Brown 3:36
6. "Blowing Up" (featuring Ciara)Najm, Ciara Harris 3:24
7. "Can't Believe It" (featuring Lil Wayne)Najm, Dwayne Carter, Jr., David Balfour 4:33
8. "It Ain't Me" (featuring Akon & T.I.)Najm, Aliaune Thiam, Clifford Harris, Jr., Romano 3:45
9. "Feed the Lions (skit)"  Najm 1:28
10. "Therapy" (featuring Kanye West)Najm, Kanye West, Romano 3:34
11. "Long Lap Dance"  Najm, Romano, Rocco Valdes 4:36
12. "Reality Show" (featuring Musiq Soulchild, Raheem DeVaughn & Jay Lyriq)Najm, James Cohen, Taalib Johnson, Romano, Raheem DeVaughn 5:27
13. "Keep Going"  Najm, Romano 2:14
14. "Superstar Lady" (featuring Young Cash)Najm, Joseph Williams 3:17
15. "Change" (featuring Akon, Diddy & Mary J. Blige)Najm, Thiam, Mary Jane Blige, Valdes, Gordon-Scott Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick, Tommy Sims, Sean Combs 5:10
16. "Digital" (featuring Tay Dizm)Najm, Artavious Smith 3:14
17. "Karaoke" (featuring DJ Khaled)Najm, Khaled Khaled 4:48
Total length:
 60:35
Notes

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Albums Chart[15] 79
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[16] 24
Japanese Albums Chart[17] 40
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[18] 30
US Billboard 200[19] 4
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[20] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2008) Position
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[21] 64

Release history

Region Date Format Label
Australia[22] November 7, 2008 Digital download, CD Jive Records
New Zealand[23]
United Kingdom[24]
Canada[25] November 11, 2008
United States[26]
Japan[27] November 26, 2008

References

  1. ↑ Kanye West Calls VMA Show-Closer 'Love Lockdown' His 'Favorite Song 2 Date'. MTV.com.'.' Retrieved September 9, 2008.
  2. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Ringleader Man - Single by T-Pain". Itunes.apple.com. 2008-10-28. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  3. 1 2 Jeffries, David. "Thr33 Ringz - T-Pain". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  4. ↑ Farber, Jim (November 7, 2008). "T-Pain's 'Thr33 Ringz' gets four stars". Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  5. ↑ Archived November 15, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ Ben Detrick (2008-11-12). "Back to the Strip Club With T-Pain - Page 1 - Music - New York". Village Voice. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  7. ↑ Macpherson, Alex (November 7, 2008). "CD: T-Pain, Thr33 Ringz | Music". The Guardian. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  8. 1 2 Padania, Jesal (November 11, 2008). "Feature for November 11, 2008 - T-Pain's "Thr33 Ringz"". RapReviews. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. 2013-05-08. Archived from the original on April 30, 2009. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  10. 1 2 Henderson, Eric (November 11, 2008). "T-Pain: Thr33 Ringz | Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  11. 1 2 Boylan, J. Gabriel (November 4, 2008). "T-Pain, 'Thr33 Ringz' (Jive)". SpinMedia. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  12. 1 2 Gardner, Elysa (November 10, 2008). "This week's reviews: Taylor shows no fear, pop candy from Archie, hollow 'Ringz' to T-Pain's album". USA Today. Gannett Company. Archived from the original on May 1, 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  13. ↑ Langhorne, Cyrus (2008-11-19). "T-PAINS RINGS IN 167K IN FIRST WEEK SALES NUMBERS". Sohh.Com. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  14. ↑ "Auto-Tune Maker Cashes In On Hip Hop Trends | Get The Latest Hip Hop News, Rap News & Hip Hop Album Sales". HipHopDX. 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2010-03-14.
  15. ↑ ARIA Report 979. Retrieved 2012-03-09
  16. ↑ "T-Pain – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for T-Pain. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  17. ↑ "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 2013-04-27.
  18. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – T-Pain – Thr33 Ringz". Hung Medien.
  19. ↑ "T-Pain – Chart history" Billboard 200 for T-Pain. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  20. ↑ "T-Pain – Chart history" Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for T-Pain. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  21. ↑ "2008 Year-End: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 14, 2016.
  22. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Thr33 Ringz by T-Pain". iTunes (AU). Apple. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  23. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Thr33 Ringz by T-Pain". iTunes (NZ). Apple. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  24. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Thr33 Ringz by T-Pain". iTunes (GB). Apple. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  25. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Thr33 Ringz by T-Pain". iTunes (CA). Apple. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  26. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Thr33 Ringz by T-Pain". iTunes (US). Apple. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  27. ↑ "iTunes - ミュージック - T-Pain「Thr33 Ringz」". iTunes (JP). Apple. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
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