T-Pain. Paras Griffin/Getty Images
T-Pain says he no longer takes credit for writing country music songs because of the racist backlash.
The two-time Grammy winner, 39, is best known for creating R&B and hip-hop hits for Jamie Foxx, DJ Khaled, Bruno Mars and more. He says he also has composed music for country artists.
“Country music is where I get all my harmonies, country and gospel music. That’s where all my harmonies come from,” T-Pain said in a TikTok video posted on Tuesday, January 30. “Good music is good music. I don’t give a f–k where it comes from or what style it come in. All the people I know, like, feel like it’s not cool to listen to other genres of music.”
The musician said that being Black has caused some people to react negatively when they see his name listed with his country compositions.
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“I done wrote a lot of country songs. Stopped taking credit for it because as cool as it is to see your name in those credits and s–t like that, the racism that comes after it is just like … I’ll just take the check, don’t put me on that s–t. I’ll just take the check, bro, never mind.”
T-Pain showed his love of country music on his 2023 On Top of the Covers live album which included his version of “Tennessee Whiskey.” The song was originally released by country artist David Allan Coe in 1981 and has been re-recorded by country stars Chris Stapleton and George Jones.
T-Pain performs on stage. Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images
The “Buy U a Drank” rapper also collaborated with Taylor Swift when they performed his parody of her classic, “Love Story,” titled “Thug Story,” at the 2009 CMT Awards.
T-Pain pioneered the use of the Auto-Tune pitch-correcting audio processor for vocals when he began his recording career in 1993. It has since been utilized by numerous stars including Snoop Dogg, Lil Wayne, Kanye West and the Black Eyed Peas.
However, some artists criticized the trend. In 2009, Jay-Z slammed hip hop artists recording with Auto-Tune in his song, “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune).” His lyrics included, “Get back to rap, you T-Paining too much.”[
Usher also bashed Auto-Tune, and in the 2021 Netflix docuseries This Is Pop, T-Pain said Usher’s remarks sent him into a depression back in 2013.
“He was, like, ‘Man, I want to tell you something, man.’ He was like, ‘Man, you kind of f—ed up music,’” he recalled, adding, “I didn’t understand. Usher was my friend.”
However, later that year, they ended their beef when they met on stage during an event in Atlanta.
“I love you, bro,” T-Pain told Usher. “We ain’t going through nothing, bro. We ain’t going through a goddamn thing. It’s all love. In times when we’re divided the most, we need to be together the most. I love you, bro. I’m never not gonna love you, bro, trust me. My dawg.”
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