T-Pain Claims Usher Caused Him Years-Long Depression Battle
By MLC on June 22, 2021 at 12:24 PM EDT
Rapper T-Pain famously known for his songs like “Bartender,” “I’m Sprung” and “Buy You A Drank” is opening up about his years-long battle with depression.
In a shocking new turn of events, T-Pain claims his depression sprung from a comment Usher made.
The “Yeah” singer noted that T-Pain’s use of auto-tune “f***ed up music.”
T-Pain shot to stardom in 2005 and made using auto-tune in music mainstream. While he didn’t “invent” auto-tune, he did make it wildly popular!
Auto-tune was invented in the late '90s, and Cher's song, "Believe," is considered to be the first song to ever feature the voice modulating software.
Usher Let His Words BURN!
In a new clip for the Netflix series, “This Is Pop,” T-Pain details how the two were friends prior to Usher making the comment.
He said, “I really respect Usher, and he was like, ‘Man I want to tell you something man. You kind of f***ed up music.’”
With disbelief on his face, T-Pain says he let out a chuckle, albeit a nervous chuckle, but Usher reiterated the sentiment and the singer knew he wasn’t joking.
“I didn’t understand. I thought he was joking at first, but then he was like, ‘Nah man, you really f***ed up music for real singers.’ And I was like, ‘how? Oh wait, you’re serious.’”
T-Pain's In The Studio!
Usher accused him saying, “Look what you did. Look what you’re doing.”
T-Pain was at a complete loss and thoroughly confused by Usher’s comment.
“I’m like, ‘What did I do?’” he continued. “I came out and I used auto-tune. I used it, I didn’t tell everybody else to start using it.”
He recalled that very moment being the start of a four-year battle with depression.
Fans of T-Pain responded to this shocking news on Twitter. One person tweeted, “Usher aint even making T-Pain hits.”
Another fan commented on the situation, “As a big fan of Usher, everything I’ve heard about him lately, is hugely disappointing. T-Pain did not deserve that.”
And many fans pointed out the fact that Usher was featured on Will.I.Am’s hit song, “OMG” and that relied heavily on auto-tune.
Neither Usher nor a rep for the singer has responded to the claims made by T-Pain. However, given Usher is a father to three children, he may want to take this as a lesson in "Your words carry weight, be thoughtful next time you want to critique someone."
According to Entertainment Weekly, "This Is Pop" is an eight-part series exploring untold stories from some of the biggest moments in pop music history. In addition to T-Pain, it features interviews with ABBA'S Benny Andersson, Shania Twain, Brandi Carlile, Chuck D, Babyface, Orville Peck, Hozier, members of Boys II Men, Backstreet Boys, Blur, and many more.
The series will be released in full June 22.
