The Rationale Quest - Philosophy and Religion latent state challenged in global economic arena

Southern hip-hop certainly has its charms. A group like, say, Outkast can reference the gangster culture without getting bogged down in it – outside New York and Los Angeles, that expectation just isn't there. And Dixie contributes a certain soul flavor you won't find elsewhere.

This is evident, but only to a degree, on R&B crooner/rapper T-Pain's sophomore effort, Epiphany...[M]elodically, T-Pain is incredibly talented. The tracks benefit from stellar production, and they all dish out some pretty infectious yet soothing R&B attitude.

T-Pain falters lyrically, however. R&B has taken a nose dive in recent years, giving up the uplift of its classic years (T-Pain deserves credit for revisiting them in "Right Hand" and "Sounds Bad," the two closing tracks) in favor of coarse, rap-style street jive. It doesn't make much sense for nonstop profanity and locker-room sex talk to accompany a gentle beat and soulful singing, but that's exactly what permeates the radio.

As a result, T-Pain values thug rhymes over clever witticisms. The singer goes beyond gangsterism, but not very far – many of the songs deal with getting women drunk in bars and taking them home (or to Mr. Pain's car).