T-Pain is well known for being a raw voice in the hip-hop community. But in a July 14 rant on twitch, he blasted "homogenized music" and the Godfather of Auto-Tune demanded more originality from up-and-coming artists.
HipHopDX explained the artist was "incensed" during the Twitch rant that would soon go viral. He focused on the frustration he felt at receiving samples that sounded like all the ones he'd heard before.
"You know when your shit sounds like somebody else's shit," he said. "Stop doing that! Stop! You're not original! Give me some original shit! ... Stop! Just fucking do something else! ... "Do some different music."
He summarized how fed up he is with unoriginal music, saying "It's people sending me the same fuckin' music that everybody else is doing and then get mad when I say 'well, I already heard this.' That's the only thing I get mad about."
If anyone is worthy of demanding originality from new artists, T-Pain is someone worth listening to. His contributions to the world of music are undeniable and here's why.
6 'Rappa Ternt Sanga'
One of the first major contributions that T-pain made to the hip-hop scene was his album Rappa Ternt Sanga. With this singular album, T-Pain transitioned seamlessly from rapping to singing.
In many ways, this was the start of a "new era for hip-hop and R&B," according to Genius. Today, it's commonplace for artists to transition from one genre to the next. Take Taylor Swift, for example, who has evolved from a hybrid of bubble-gum pop/country to her more recent folk/indie albums. That trend can be credited, at least in part, to the trail-blazing move by T-Pain to release Rappa Ternt Sanga.
5 Auto-Tune
Arguably the biggest contribution T-Pain made to the hip-hop community was the use of auto-tune. The Undefeated described his use of auto-tune as "[setting] the groundwork for an entire ecosystem," though he would eventually receive backlash for it.
Though T-Pain didn't invent auto-tune, he did popularize its usage in music. In a way, he brought auto-tune into the spotlight and found innovative ways to use it. However, this tool would eventually be used as a way to create a caricature of the artist.
Despite the criticism of Auto-Tune, T-Pain had incredible success, with 17 Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 list between 2005 and 2009. Along with that, Auto-Tune became a regular part of music, being used by the likes of Rihanna, Kesha, and even Bon Iver. It seems that, regardless of the genre,
4 The Sound
Auto-Tune aside, T-Pain brought a new sound to hip-hop and R&B. Described by Genius as "hard & B," he found a way to combine the party-rap beats with gentle melodies, all the while incorporating Auto-Tune as a signature in his sound. This combination of genres and sounds would eventually spread across the entire musical plane, impacting everything from trap music to country to pop and indie rock.
Over eight years, T-Pain managed to land a total of 46 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 list. Three of those were Number 1 hits.
In a way, thanks to T-Pain, hip-hop absorbed R&B, says Genius.
"T-Pain is a game-changing artist who caused a notable shift in the sound of music," Genius Head of Artist Relations Rob Markman said before an interview with the artist. "You can see a T-Pain direct influence in the careers of artists like Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Diddy, but the truth is there isn't a popular artist around who doesn't have a little bit of T-Pain in them."
3 Originality
T-Pain has developed a reputation for doing things his own way. He has tried, above all, to stay original.
He initially got started in the music industry in a hip-hop ground called Nappy Headz. During that time, T-Pain had the realization that the majority of artists in the genre were rapping. Not one to fall to the back of the crowd, he pivoted and started singing.
Once everyone in hip-hop started singing, T-Pain continued his pursuit of originality by turning to Auto-Tune, the voice modulator that would end up defining his career.
Speaking on his desire to be different, T-Pain told NPR, "I'm not gonna change my style because other people are starting to overuse it. I'm gonna do what I believe in.
2 Mental Health Awareness
A lesser-known contribution from T-Pain is the awareness he has brought to mental health issues in the music industry. T-Pain has frequently been radically honest when it comes to his mental health.
Particularly related to the turn in his reputation and the accusation from Usher that he was responsible for "obliterating the art's purity," T-Pain has opened up about the depression he felt upon realizing the negative impact Auto-Tune has had on his career.
"When I came out in the game, I was using Auto-Tune in order to make myself sound different," he explained. "And then when everybody else started using it, it kinda made me sound the same again... It's a bad thing to do, but I started telling myself, 'I was doing this for nothing...' It was just terrible self-esteem basically."
This openness about mental health will have a lasting impact on the music industry. As more artists are able to be public about their mental health struggles, it will help fellow artists and fans alike as they work through their own.
1 Lifestyle Of A Rapper
What do you think of when you think of a rapper? Is it a giant yacht, a party lifestyle, booze, girls, and drugs? Whatever the mold is for a rapper, T-Pain doesn't fit it. Rather than focusing on being cool, says Genius, the married father of three instead focuses on family, his wife, and his children.
By changing the outward perception of what a rapper has to be, T-Pain will continue to influence the culture and art of the hip-hop and R&B music community. Amidst the struggles, he continues to be an original, an enigma within the industry, and an influence on artists across the board.