T-Pain Brings Nostalgia, Covers & Remixes to NYC’s Pier 17
Article Written and Photos by: John Krug
When thinking of those who helped shape hip-hop/pop music into what it is today, T-Pain is someone who’s practically always in the discussion. Having a seemingly endless arsenal of chart-topping hits and iconic collaborations, his legacy is one forever ingrained within pop culture as a whole. In the year 2023? That’s more evident than ever before. On a beautiful July evening, NYC’s Rooftop at Pier 17 was ready for a night to remember. T-Pain had arrived in town with his incredibly anticipated “Escape From Wiscansin: The Invasion” tour and a sold-out audience was buzzing. An evening of nostalgia, excitement, and immaculate vibes was right around the corner.
The night kicked off with 2 of T-Pain’s Nappy Boy Entertainment signees, Young Cash & NandoSTL, playing brief yet incredibly exciting sets. Each brought an instant party vibe to the beautiful outdoor venue and kept the capacity crowd engaged throughout.
From Left to Right: Young Cash & NandoSTL
Next up was Chicago-bred rapper Tobi Lou, likely known by most fans in attendance thanks to his collaboration track with T-Pain, “2hrs+”. Anyone who’s seen him live before is certainly familiar with his infectious, giddy energy and tonight was no different. He cleverly introduced himself to newcomers with a call & response chant of “Tobi Lou? F**K YOU!” which came into play regularly between songs. Tobi commanded the stage with a frenzy of energy and heavy-hitting trap bangers mixed in with his more melodic cuts. His set ended with a beautiful performance of the aforementioned T-Pain collab “2hrs+” as the audience waved their cell phone lights throughout the air. As the sun began to set, the fantastic trio of openers had done their job and this packed-out rooftop was more than ready for the main event.
Following a refreshingly brief changeover, it was showtime. A quick space-themed intro video played and in a flash, T-Pain emerged on an elevated platform in the center of the stage. What quickly ensued could only be described as the biggest party of the summer. A booming performance of “Take Your Shirt Off” served as the evening’s introduction followed by a nearly endless string of smash hits. Finding a fan not singing along would prove to be a challenge as chart-toppers such as “Shots”, “Blame It” & “Low” filled the waterfront air. A major component of the show also saw T-Pain remixing his greatest hits with the instrumentals of some of today’s most popular hip-hop/pop anthems. An instant standout was 2007’s “Kiss Kiss” being mixed over the instrumental of Lil Uzi Vert’s “Just Wanna Rock”. This decision not only helped bridge the gap between the 2000s & 2020s but also shined a brand new perspective on songs most in attendance have likely already heard countless times. It’s things like this that truly show why T-Pain remains so successful to this very day: he’s not afraid to innovate. Case in point? A brief set of cover songs from entirely contrasting genres was performed halfway through the evening. As a witty logo on the stage screen read “On Top of the Covers”, T-Pain performed his own renditions of songs such as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” & Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me”. The roaring audience hit every note right along with him and made it instantly known that it never hurts to shake things up a bit.
If the show up to that point hadn’t already felt like one big celebration, the grand finale proved to be exactly that. After running through yet another string of his hits, T-Pain had his crew flood the stage for an incredibly fitting performance of “All I Do Is Win”. The crowd energy at this point was so infectious that you’d likely be hearing the collective chants of “AND THEY STAY THERE!” from blocks away. It had seemed that this was the end, but in classic T-Pain fashion, he had one final trick up his sleeve. Circling right back to the cover theme from earlier in the night, jukebox-style lyrics appeared onscreen as he performed a fiery rendition of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”. As T-Pain finished flexing his vocal muscles one last time and gave his final remarks, an undeniably satisfied crowd made their way back to reality, but not without smiles. On July 11th, 2023, New York City had the pleasure of witnessing a living music legend do what he does best.
T-Pain’s “Escape From Wiscansin” tour is simply put “a pop culture tour de force”. It’s incredibly evident that much love went into crafting this show & crowd reactions made it clear that everything paid off. The tour will soon conclude on July 14th in Atlanta, but anyone who misses out should make it a top priority to catch T-Pain next time he hits the road. In search of a huge party that you’ll never forget? Look no further.
Find T-Pain here!
