Put Some Respect on T-Pain’s Name

I logged on to Twitter at about 12:30 today just to see what was trending. Between Kanye’s failed presidential campaign, the battle between Trump and the CDC, and bubonic-plague squirrels, this has already been a hectic week- and it’s only Wednesday! I guess this is actually a pretty normal week in 2020….

Public health officials have announced that a squirrel in Colorado has tested positive for the bubonic plague. https://t.co/ksYZNRPZdu

— ABC News (@ABC) July 14, 2020

But one trending topic really caught my eye: T-Pain is getting hate from Travis Scott, Kanye, and music fans? AW HELL NO. During a recent Twitch stream, T-Pain revealed that Travis Scott failed to show up for multiple scheduled studio sessions. T-Pain was paying hundreds of dollars every session to rent equiptment, and even when Travis Scott and his crew arrived, they fell asleep!

Apparently, the T-Pain hate is nothing new. While recording “808s and Heartbreak”, Kanye West brought T-Pain in as a studio consultant- aiming to get T-Pain’s Rappa Turnt Sanga sound onto his own album. But during these sessions, Kayne showed nothing but disrespect to T-Pain, claiming his “sh*t is weak”. What the hell?!

I get so angry when music fans diss T-Pain. Travis Scott, Kanye and Future all use auto-tune extensively, but they feel too good for T-Pain and feel the need to diss him? T-Pain is only 33: he was 20 when he released Rappa Turnt Sanga in 2005. That album includes all time classics like I’m Sprung and I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper) and was certified gold less than 7 months after its release. At age 20, I was trying to pass Spanish class and eating ramen (ok, well to be fair I still eat ramen).

If T-Pain’s use of auto-tune turns you off, I challenge you to watch his acoustic Tiny Desk Concert with NPR. He begins the show by saying “I know you’re all probably wondering where the auto-tune is gonna come from… I got it right here! It’s all surgically inserted.” I’m serious, watch this concert and then try to hate on T-Pain. Try. I dare you.

As a wise person once said, “T-Pain doesn’t need auto-tune. Auto-tune needs T-Pain.”