T-Pain Essentials

There's no denying that T-Pain (the singer/rapper born Faheem Rasheed Najm) forever changed the urban pop landscape with his relentless use of the transformative vocal-processing software Auto-Tune. Inspired by New Jack Swing architect and producer Teddy Riley, who used it on Blackstreet's “Deep,” the Tallahassee native—and connoisseur of boats and colourful top hats—spent two years perfecting his Auto-Tune technique to try to differentiate himself from his local rap scene. He attracted a flock of critics who thought he couldn't sing, but his style quickly caught on: Endearingly carefree performances and lighthearted lyrics made huge hits of singles such as “Buy U a Drank” and “I'm Sprung,” bringing a welcome levity to hip-hop. No sad hard-knock stories here—instead, T-Pain made catchy earworms about wooing bartenders and strippers. In 2019, T-Pain was revealed as the first winner of the TV competition The Masked Singer (he performed anonymously throughout the season in a one-eyed monster costume), quieting any lingering doubts about his well-honed natural vocal talent.