Auto-tune puts T-Pain on blast

In a sketch for the website FunnyorDie.com, T-Pain gets into an argument with his vocoder, played by a HAL-like talking box. The device wonders why Pain gets all the credit, and demands he record a track called “Thank You Vocoder, You Are Wonderful and Have Helped Me Tremendously.” The skit is funny but also ironic. For all T-Pain has done to help craft hits for rappers like Lil Wayne and Kanye West, he tends to be the forgotten man. Despite another No. 1 album in 2008, he remains fairly unknown outside of hip-hop. I hereby christen 2008 “Year of the Pain.” Here are his most memorable songs of the year:

1) “Got Money” with Lil Wayne – I’m not entirely sure why anyone would want to “hang over the wall of the VIP” after “gettin’ money from everybody you see,” but gosh darn if Pain’s chorus doesn’t make it the most infectious pop hip-hop song of the year.

2) “Cash Flow” with Ace Hood – Pain takes a more aggressive stance here, threatening you with his “nine.” But immediately he shifts tone and implores listeners to dance, because at the end of the day everyone likes money, right?

3) “Robocop” with Kanye West – Though Pain doesn’t perform on it, he co-wrote this memorable track on 808s & Heartbreak and successfully coached West in the use of auto-tune.

4) “What It Is (Strike a Pose)” with Lil Mama – The homage to a 19-year-old Brooklyn girl known for her lip gloss is as surreal as it is satisfying.

5) “Long Lap Dance” – The song’s raison d’etre is simply to give the fellas some extra quality time with their strippers. That’s more purpose than most rap songs serve these days.