T-Pain is a talented vocalist, as he has proven on many occasions. His 2014 Tiny Desk Concert stands out as a shining example of that. Ultimately, though, he is best known for his songs that make use of Auto-Tune to alter the sound of his vocals. His Auto-Tuned voice dominated the music landscape in the latter half of the 2000s, but not everybody was a fan. The way T-Pain tells it, that group includes Usher, who allegedly accused T-Pain of ruining music, a moment that sent T-Pain into a long depression.
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In a clip from Netflix’s This Is Pop, T-Pain tells the story about the time he and Usher were on a plane, on their way to the 2013 BET Awards:
“We were actually going to the 2013 BET Awards, and we were all in first class and I went to sleep. I was awakened by the flight attendant. She said, ‘Usher would like to talk to you in the back.’ So I got up and went back and he was like, you know, ‘How’s everything going?’ Quick small talk, no big deal. And he was like, ‘Man, I want to tell you something, man.’ I was like, ‘What’s good?’ I thought he was about to tell me something real. He sounded real concerned. He was like, ‘Man, you kind of… you kind of f*cked up music.’
I didn’t understand. Usher was my friend. He was like, ‘Yeah man, you really f*cked up music for real singers.’ Literally, at that point, I couldn’t listen. ‘Is he right? Did I f*ck up music?’ And that is the very moment… I don’t even think I realized this for a long time, but that’s the very moment that started a four-year depression for me.”
Watch the clip above.
