Subject: T-Pain

• Lil Wayne's New Video: The Play-N-Skillz-Produced "Got Money"

  July 29, 2008

• Breaking Down The Grammy Nominations (Or: Hey, Some Love For DFWd!)

  The 2009 Grammy nominations were announced last night, which means, yep, we're being INUNDATED with press releases from ecstatic and eager publicists touting their clients' successes.Like we have any say in the matter. Yeah, right.But, by my count, DFWd's doing OK here. Here's a breakdown of area artists who received Grammy nominations last night...Erykah BaduKinda shocking to see Ms. Badu only get one nomination for her excellent New Amerykah Pt. 1: 4th World War disc--especially since the sole

  December 4, 2008

• Bonus MP3: Play-N-Skillz feat. Jay-Z -- "Checkin' My Fresh"

  It's good to be Play-N-Skillz right now. The song you produced for Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, "Got Money (feat. T-Pain)", was kind of a big deal, and it certainly didn't hurt the disc on its way to becoming the best selling disc of '08. And now, the song's been nominated for a Grammy--and the album for another two--meaning the half-Venezuelan, half-Argentinian brothers could walk from the music industry's "biggest event of the year" with as many as three take-home trophies. Nice.And that's to s

  December 4, 2008

• More Love For Play-N-Skillz's Efforts On Lil Wayne's Disc

  MTV News' hip-hop department has announced today it's picks for the top 28 commercially release hip-hop singles of the year (which, I guess, means no remixes are eligible), and lookie there, right at No. 19, yep, that's Lil Wayne's "Got Money (feat. T-Pain)", as produced by area hotshots Play-N-Skillz. We've posted the above video here on DC9 before. But if you haven't yet seen it, check it out. --Pete Freedman

  December 15, 2008

• Who's The Odd Man Out In The Lil Wayne Concert Lineup?

  We've been privy to the Lil' Wayne concert for a while now, but only recently did I start hearing radio drops for it that announce who else would be sharing the stage with him: Keyshia Cole (OK), T-Pain (I can see that), and Gym Class Heroes (WTF)? Not taking anything away from GCH because they fucking rock, but unless they're planning some sort of mash up, complete with Wayne pulling out "Let It Rock," I don't see the connection. As musicians, I could see why the foursome would be cool with tou

  December 17, 2008

• Top Ten Dance Albums of 2008

  Any knucklehead with DSL and a laptop can now make an electronic track. With a half hour of clicking and fiddling, you can sample enough cheesy beats and mashups to clog arteries from here to Berlin. Simple dropdown mouse maneuvers can transform electro tracks into progressive house tracks (from dry and synthetic to wet and gushy), rhythm tracks can be tempo-tweaked with an upward toggle to change a Timbaland beat into a Chromeo one. Add some T-Pain-esque pitch-correction vocals to your between-

  December 22, 2008

• Top Ten Hip-Hop Albums Of 2008

  A couple of weeks ago, an expert on the Harry Potter series told an audience of high school kids how lucky they were to have this Big Shared Experience--these seven books and 41,000 words in common. What does Harry Potter have to do with hip-hop in 2008? In an age when many year-end lists should be subtitled "Ten More Albums You've Never Heard of and Will Never, Ever Hear," plenty. Technology has made the world smaller, and in response, we've found smaller and smaller worlds to inhabit. Thin

  December 19, 2008

• Top Ten Pop Songs of 2008

  Pop music often gets a bad rap for being disposable or vapid, and in many cases that's true. (Katy Perry, Danity Kane and the Pussycat Dolls, step right up!) But every year, a few irresistible bits of innovative ear candy rocket up the charts and seep into our subconscious. The following ten singles saturated the Top 40--or what passes for hit-oriented radio in this topsy-turvy musical climate--while proving that accessibility doesn't necessarily preclude creativity.

  December 19, 2008

• Last Night: Lil Wayne at American Airlines Center

  Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Keyshia ColeAmerican Airlines CenterDecember 19, 2008 Better Than: Listening to a whole bunch of records in which T-Pain and Lil Wayne are just the featured acts. Check out our photos from the show here.As if, at any point over the course of this past year, there was still doubt: Lil Wayne proved last night at the American Airlines Center that he is, indeed, a rock star--and maybe the biggest rockstar on the planet. After the elaborate LED screens behind the stage fired up,

  December 20, 2008

• Weekend Roundup: Lil Wayne, T-Pain, Ohgr, 12 Stones, Some Kid From Degrassi

  Now that you've had, oh, about three hours to settle back into the work week, I guess it's time to fondly look back on the weekend that was, eh? Let's get right into it.Lil Wayne and T-Pain at American Airlines CenterLooking back on it now, my glorious prose doesn't really do Lil Wayne's entrance on Friday night that much justice. Well, not as much as this clip does, at least. Forward this sucker to two minutes in for the full effect (and least amount of pre-payoff camera-induced motion sickness

  December 22, 2008

• Hitsville: The Year in Music, by the Numbers

  You don't need a half-wit music critic to tell you it's been a remarkable year for America, one historians will be discussing and researching for centuries to come. War, financial collapse, politics, technology: All have been dinner-table topics for many Americans. Racial barriers in 2008 were demolished by a Midwestern black man, and gender barriers were hurdled by an Arkansan and an Alaskan.Democracy has a few awesome new dance moves rolling into the Obama presidency, and it'll be a feast f

  December 26, 2008

• The End Of The End Of Year Lists (No, Really, This Time): The Top Concerts Of 2008

  Melanie GomezFind our slideshow of our favorite concert photos of 2008 right here.I didn't get to Dallas until February, so apologies to any great shows that took place in January--I missed them. But over the past eleven months, I saw plenty of live music--both with touring bands and locals. How many sucked? More than I care to say. How many were so-so? Most, actually. How many were great? A good amount--cutting this list down to 10 wasn't all that easy. Assuming I went to three shows a week ove

  January 9, 2009

• Did You Know That Norah Jones Guests On The Lonely Island's Album?

  Yep, it's true. The Grammy-winning Dallas native (who also has some punk leanings, remember) makes a guest appearance on Incredibad, the debut album from Andy Samberg and Crew's The Lonely Island. Jones joins the comedians, who are best known for "Jizz In My Pants" and T-Pain collaboration "I'm On A Boat", for a track called "Dreamgirl". Check it out...

  February 25, 2009

• Taylor Swift, Butch Walker and Others Offer Up Their 2008 Favorites

  ...Oh, and we got a few well-known out-of-towners to share some of their favorites too

  January 1, 2009

• Pop Quiz, Music Snobs!

  What the hell happened with music in 2008? Well, let's see if you know.

  December 25, 2008

• T-Pain

  Thr33 Ringz (Nappy Boy Entertainment)

  December 4, 2008

• Money Talks

  With Lil Wayne's latest single, Play-N-Skillz cements its reputation as a production team—and maybe Dallas' reputation as a source of hip-hop?

  July 17, 2008

• With R. Kelly, It's Thrill-a-Minute

  Hang on while we take you on an up-and-down history of R. Kelly's life

  January 10, 2008

• Kanye West

  September 20, 2007

• Lazare's Bar Hosts A Grand Opening, But Will Anyone Remember?

  Anastasia JakseThe new mojitos: blueberry on the left, raspberry at right. "Blame it on the a-a-alcohol...," DJ Christopher Tracy puts his spin on Jamie Foxx and T-Pain's rap song amidst a forest of black and red balloons. Blame it on the alcohol, indeed. Or the 'any excuse to party' ethic that drives Uptown behavior. Lazare's "grand opening" on Saturday showcased the type of frozen concoction once served at Republic--a bar people flocked to then ignored, flocked to then ignored. Jason Quiroga,

  June 8, 2009

• Get On a Boat

  July 16, 2009

• Today In Music News: T-Pain Gets His App On, Bret Michaels' Hair Speaks Out and Lydon Is Back On The Scene

  Your daily dose of national music news for Tuesday, September 8, 2009... Wanna sing like T-Pain? There's an app for that! Now the other side of the story: Bret Michaels hair piece breaks it's long silence. Johnny Lydon plans to reform a version of PiL to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its album Metal Box.  I wonder how long it will be until he blows up and quits the tour?

  September 8, 2009

• Play-N-Skillz Launch Label, Sign Local Artist

  The proud owners of a new major label imprint.​ Yesterday, two-time Grammy-winning Dallas hip-hop production duo Play-N-Skillz announced a deal it has signed with Universal Music Group urban imprint SRC/Universal to launch its own imprint, which will be called G4 Muzik. After the jump, the full press release announcing the deal. But, in short, it's a pretty sweet one for the Brothers Salinas, as they'll have complete control over the production, promotion and marketing of their own clients--wh

  September 10, 2009

• Watch: Play-N-Skillz -- "Xxpensive"

  Dallas natives and brothers Juan and Oscar Salinas, who combine to form Play-N-Skillz, have won a couple Grammy awards. And, in case you forgot as much, they're happy to remind you a couple times in the above video.Of course, that's not the sole purpose of its creation (though, certainly, it appears to be, at least in part). Rather, the above video for the duo's new song "Xxpensive" was posted yesterday to Youtube to promote the brothers' new mixtape, The Recession Proof, which will see its rel

  October 23, 2009