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Please run T-Pain’s quotes through the Auto-Tune filter in your mind for maximum enjoyment of this article.
Not that Faheem Najm (T-Pain’s real name) conducts interviews through a voice filter. It’s just a little weird hearing his voice any other way. Songs like “I’m Sprung,” “Buy U a Drank” and “5 O’Clock” all incorporate the voice-modifying software to various degrees.
While the use has been mocked and parodied over the years, T-Pain said his use of Auto-Tune started as something to set him apart from other artists.
“I think I just wanted to sound different; at the time not a lot of people were doing it,” T-Pain, performing Thursday with Gym Class Heroes at the Val Air Ballroom, said during a phone interview. “If I came out singing, I’d just be another singer. I wanted to find something that made me different from other singers.”
In December, T-Pain released his first album in three years, “RevolveR.” The album went through several delays, bumping it back from its planned 2010 release. The album title includes the word “evolve,” and T-Pain said the delays caused the album itself to evolve. His life was going through changes and the music he made changed with it. In the end T-Pain said he recorded enough songs for four albums, but those other 30 some tracks will likely just be discarded.
“RevolveR” also features fewer guest artists than his last few albums. Frequent collaborations in hip hop can cause problems for live shows, since people like Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Wiz Khalifa aren’t likely to show up for cameos at each show. T-Pain said he keeps that in mind while composing his music.
“I always try to put people on the last verse, so that if anything I can at least do three-fourths of the song,” T-Pain said. “I can never figure out why people would do songs with other people on the hook. When they’re not there it’s always weird. I try to keep the live performance in mind when I’m making music.”
One guest you can expect during Thursday’s show is Travie McCoy of tourmates Gym Class Heroes. As a solo artist McCoy is on T-Pain’s Nappy Boy label and T-Pain appeared on McCoy’s song “The Manual.” T-Pain said it would be “stupid” for them not to get together on tour.
T-Pain has found an unusual amount of crossover success with comedy fans. He appeared as Frylock in a live-action episode of “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” a faux rap battle with comedian Kevin Hart and most famously in the “Saturday Night Live” digital short “On a Boat.” The singer finds that humor mixes well with pretty much anything.
“Everything is hilarious as hell,” T-Pain said. “In most serious situations I can’t be around, because I laugh at everything. I’m not afraid to put it out there if I think something’s funny. Sometimes I’ll be the only one laughing, but life’s too short to be serious all the time.”
