T-Pain’s Still Got It: Houston Parties at White Oak to his 20th Anniversary Tracks

T-Pain comes in stronger than ever at his 20 Year Celebration Tour. 

Houston’s got it, if the moves they threw at T-Pain’s 20th Anniversary Tour were anything to go by. 

The prevailing theme from the get-go seemed to be Gatsby green and gold. Following an audio introduction, T-Pain entered from the center of a roman numeral 20 to perform “I’m Sprung.” It was all eyes on him. He was dressed in a bombastic striped green suit, sunglasses and the world’s biggest smile. Next, his dancers appeared for “Shawty” and “Up Down.” 

Back to the good ‘ole days

A look around the packed lawn of White Oak Music Hall felt like a true blast from the past of 2010’s club culture. The audience skewed Millenial, and they brought their habits with them. Everyone was getting down with passion. Although very clearly (even painfully) sold out, those on the lawn left room for each other to dance freely. For some, that wasn’t enough. One woman was having a blast on the right side slope, clicking a glittery purple fan to the beat. Another fan had a whole pit to himself as he broke out the cleanest two-step I’ve seen this year. 

Earlier, attendees vibed to openers Armani White and EarthGang. T-Pain beamed with equal delight to be touring alongside them.

Bigger than expected

“It’s tough for independent artists to just pack up and go on a tour with another independent artist,” T-Pain said. “I appreciate y’all for trusting me. A lot of people in the same industry that’s going on these big ass tours, they have these billion dollar machines behind them and I’ve been independent since 2018…it’s cool to see y’all here, man. This shit was just an idea in my head about four months ago, and I was like, You know what? Fuck it. I’ll put the spots. I’ll bring my friends with me.” 

He spoke to the crowd with the lights on. The people struggling to stand on the sides of the slopes and causing a hazard in front of the drinks station were clearly visible. Still, he took it in stride, almost as a point of pride. 

“I gotta tell you, it kind of feels like I fucked up,” he laughed. “Could have got a bigger spot, probably. This was advertised to me like it was gonna be a lot of space.”

Sure, maybe the venue oversold, or perhaps T-Pain underestimated his relevancy. 

Still got it

Born Faheem Rashad Najm in 1984, this Floridian rapper and producer has been active since 1999. A pioneer in autotune, he rose to fame with club hits and collaborations with the biggest names on the scene such as Lil Wayne and Flo Rida. T-Pain is like Queen or The Killers in the sense that you don’t realize exactly how many iconic songs he has until faced with a back-to-back lineup like this. 

Hits like “Cyclone” and “She Got It” kept everybody moving en mass. Millennials dominated the crowd and set a refreshingly positive tone, picking up trash cans younger fans knocked over, flagging down medics and helping anyone who’d had a bit too much.

Blame it on the alcohol

Another wave of 2010s club-culture nostalgia hit as people failed spectacularly to handle their liquor. The first thing to greet me upon entering the venue was a young lady dry heaving over a trash can, best friend dutifully holding her hair back. The rest of the venue offered simillar scense. However, the bathroom especially echoed with the sounds of suffering.

Still, the crowd stayed helpful and friendly. No fights broke out, nor did anyone get upset about being bumped in the packed space.

At the halfway point, T-Pain hyped up the Houston crowd by mashing “Kiss Kiss” with Travis Scott’s “Fein” as the backtrack. The song seemed to breathe a new life into the attendees, with waves of energy during “No Hands” making it near impossible to move around the venue freely for a bit. However, no song was louder than “I’m In Love With a Stripper.” 

Finishing strong

Instead of a traditional encore, the final part of the show was a series of covers ranging from the Lonely Island to Journey.  Unexpectedly, T-Pain offered a very worthy cover of the late Ozzy Osbourne’s “War Pigs.” 

The audience spent the entire show trying to match T-Pain’s backup dancers in both moves and style. The four dancers radiated emotion, attitude, and visible joy with every step. Their costume changes were few, but each one made a bold, dramatic impact.

The set closed with an energetic rendition on “All I Do is Win.” Then, some parting words from the man himself. 

“If you’re planning on trying something new tonight, do half,” T-Pain said with a wink. “And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. But if you do, name it after T-Pain.” 

Undeniably, T-Pain puts on a really fun show. It’s refreshing to see a man actually get up on stage and perform, singing, dancing to choreography, having costume changes and actually looking happy to be performing. A lot of his contemporaries could take a page or two out of his book.