During the early 2000s, one could not turn on the radio without hearing a track that was either led by T-Pain or featuring the crooner. He had the masses doing everything from snappin’ their fingers to walkin’ it out, but the Florida native reveals he saw little to no return on the investment for one of his most legendary songs.

In the late 1990s, Auto-Tune was introduced. However, it’s no secret that it was T-Pain who helped push it to the forefront of the music industry.

T-Pain is always racking up the business moves — from his recent restaurant to his success on Twitch, and now an extended partnership with Lipton Iced Tea, the Tallahassee legend continues to boss up. In fact, his level-up has every bit of intention behind it, the 37-year-old entertainer explained how he looks to artists like Killer Mike and David Banner for inspiration. “David Banner, Killer Mike, you know people that look like me that have done this on their own and succeeded, those are my biggest inspirations,” said T-Pain in an exclusive interview with AfroTech. His journey to success has a lot of highs and lows, but at this point, the “Can’t Believe It” singer is having fun, remaining true to himself, and expanding on his foundation to leave behind a legacy rooted in authenticity.

T-Pain is following a new calling as the rap veteran and entertainer is now a restaurant owner. “I DID IT BOIS!!!! Im officially a restaurant owner. Got my keys today and I’m scared as sh&%. BUT! I can no longer ignore the paths God has set for me just because I don’t understand or I’m scared,” T-Pain wrote on Instagram.

Cxmmunity is still on a mission to make esports accessible at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The Black-owned non–profit spearheaded by Christopher Peay and Ryan Johnson has announced its second annual HBCU Esports League Verizon Celebrity Pro-Am. Students will compete in Uno and Fortnite alongside celebrity figures including T-Pain, Brett Gray, Mike Evans, Erin Ashley Simon, Allisha Gray, Bas, Tarik Cohen, FaZe Swagg, Sonny Digital, and more. “We want to continue elevating and raising awareness around HBCU esports programs while showing these schools and these students that there are really cool people in sports, entertainment, and music supporting the gaming space,” Johnson told AfroTech exclusively. In addition to playing alongside celebrity favorites, students can also look forward to a prize pool of $10,000 with $2,000 for the Uno segment that will be donated to the school’s esports programs and $8,000 for the Fortnite tournament to support student...

It seems that “whatever you need, you can get that Black” is the apparent mood for Google and its second annual #BlackOwnedFriday campaign, which features Grammy award-winning artist T-Pain and pop sensation Normani. The shoppable film is giving 50 Black-owned brands their flowers and will highlight over 100 products from beauty to home goods and more. The musical project will allow users to shop and connect with businesses in one click. Essence reports, the partnership felt organic for T-Pain because he has always advocated for Black-owned businesses long before it became popular. “I was thrilled when Google reached out about the second annual Black-owned Friday,” T-Pain said, according to Essence. “Last year, Google partnered with the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. to reimagine Black Friday as ‘Black-owned Friday’ — a day to celebrate and support Black-owned businesses. This year, I’m proud to join Google and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. for another year of encouraging shoppers to...

As a rapper, T-Pain has a popularity that few, if any, have today. But the Florida native’s impact on the music industry is nothing if not controversial. He, after all, popularized the use of “Auto-Tune.” And while he’s far from the only rapper — or the only musician — to ever use corrective techniques in the studio, he was the first one to be upfront about it. Today, Auto-Tune isn’t as frowned upon as it was back then. And how can it be? When we’re in the age of social media — when everything you put out to the public runs through a filter or is otherwise “perfected” before it’s available for public consumption — “Auto-Tune” isn’t that bad. You might also say it was almost necessary. the music business owes T-Pain an apology — Andrew Barber (@fakeshoredrive) June 21, 2021 These days, T-Pain is better known for his upcoming book, “Can I Mix You A Drink?” which is a hardcover liquor guide based on his time and experiences in the music business. But he’s certainly done a lot more than...