Back in middle school, the Tallahassee-born-and-bred Faheem Najm, aka T-Pain, (short for Teddy Pain) never imagined he’d be considered so cool. “I didn’t have friends,” he says. “I used to get picked on. Maybe I was fat and skinny at the same time.” Or maybe it was all in his head, but his insecurity is apparent in the way he avoids eye contact when flashing back to his childhood.
At age 10, inspired by his father, a “Kurtis Blow-type rapper,” and his idols, OutKast, T-Pain started building a studio in his bedroom, away from the bullies. He put his precious wooden dinosaur collectibles (one of his quirky hobbies) aside for an 8-track and became obsessed with music.
Eventually, T-Pain joined the local rap group Nappy Headz, which enjoyed moderate success in early 2000 but eventually disbanded. His real break came from “jacking” (as T-Pain will readily admit) Akon’s “Locked Up” beat in 2004 and reworking it into the mixtape phenomenon “Fucked Up.” Intrigued, Akon reached out to T-Pain and signed him to his Konvict Muzic label. “What initially attracted me to him was that he sounded like me,” says Akon. “But then I realized that he writes and produces his own stuff. He would have made it without me — that’s how talented he is.”
The songs on T-Pain’s album, tentatively titled I’m Sprung, all share two things: the Auto-Tune — software that creates special vocal effects much like the Vocoder Roger Troutman popularized in the ’80s — and the based-on-a-true-story theme. The title track is actually dedicated to his wife, while “In Love With a Stripper” talks about an old infatuation with an exotic dancer.
As an aspiring rapstress runs over to give him a hug, it’s obvious T-Pain’s days of unpopularity are over. “That was the reason I started doing music,” he concedes. “One day, I started rapping in school, and it got me friends.” These days, he’s got fans as well.
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Comments
1.
maine says:
I LUV T-PAIN SONG PUT IT DWN U MADE A HIT ON DAT ONE
October 30, 2007 at 2:12 pm
2.
JAZLYN STEPHENS says:
I LOVE T-PAIN SO SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH THAT'S MY HUSBAND 4 LYFE "KISS KISS"
October 24, 2007 at 8:37 am
3.
justin moreno says:
u da best
October 23, 2007 at 2:14 pm
4.
diamond girl says:
T Pain im so in love with your music .I love da way u sing & dance you've got a lot of talent.And i hope u stick around for good.
September 25, 2007 at 1:19 pm
5.
T-Pain Lover says:
Hey, T-Pain! I love you so much! Hit me up at http://blingee.com/profile/TPainzChik. I love you! My profile on blingee.com is all about you! You know I'm obsessed with you! I can't help it! You're so sexy! You are so hot!
August 17, 2007 at 3:45 pm
6.
quisha says:
T pain that sexy chocolate candy thats good 4 me
July 18, 2007 at 1:49 pm
7.
mz.sponge bob says:
damn u is fine ass hell and chat back or leave some thing on my page!!!!!!!!!!!!!!????????????
June 27, 2007 at 9:53 pm
8.
niera says:
he ain't ugly or sexc but hez an okay lookn dude.
June 25, 2007 at 9:55 pm
9.
krystal says:
love u n your musiic!!
June 19, 2007 at 10:40 am
10.
IVY MCFADDEN says:
I REALLY LOVE YOUR MUSIC. I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU AND I DONT EVEN KNOW YOU .KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. LOVE ALWAY'S IVY
June 11, 2007 at 2:08 pm
11.
Lashay Clarke says:
T-Pain, you are all that a singer should ever want to be. I feel that more singers/rappers should bite your style so that they can become more like you. "YA DIGG"
June 4, 2007 at 8:59 pm