T-Pain revealed he avoids attaching his songwriting credits to country music because of the racist encounters he faced.
A TikTok video of the singer and producer explaining the negative experiences he dealt with as a contributor to the music genre went viral in January 2024.
“I wrote a lot of country songs and stopped taking the credit for it,” the artist said. “As cool as it is to see your name in the credits, the racism that comes after is just like… I’ll just take the check.”
Although T-Pain did not share which country songs ushered in the racist feedback, he further commented at a Super Bowl event on Saturday about his other music experiences and shared that country music is the only genre where he has dealt with racial criticisms.
“I wouldn’t say backlash or anything like that — but [there] was a lot of criticism of, ‘Why did they let a Black person be a part of this?’ or things like that,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was just a lot of that stuff. So I kind of just backed off from putting my name on things and [I] just collect the money. I don’t need to be known for any of that. That’s fine.”
The hitmaker has previously collaborated with performers such as Taylor Swift, Steve Aoki, Wisin & Yandel, Lily Allen, the Lonely Island and Jesse McCartney. Last year, T-Pain’s admiration for country music became more publicized when a video of him covering David Allan Coe’s “Tennessee Whiskey” circulated online.
In an old interview he did with The Breakfast Club, clips resurfaced of T-Pain talking more about his ghostwriting country music while he previously lived in Nashville for two years.
“I write a lot of country music for huge country artists that would rather not have it known that I write for them,” he told The Breakfast Club. “I got back up with Taylor Swift, Luke Bryan, Rhett Akins [and] Dallas Davidson. So, you know, I’ve written a lot for a lot [for] very important country artists.”
The 39-year-old singer and producer is widely known for popularizing the auto-tune effect throughout his records. His most famous songs include “Bartender,” “Buy U A Drank,” “I’m Sprung,” “I’m N Luv,” and many countless hits that helped to solidify his career alongside contributing to the success of other artists. In addition to creating his successful music portfolio and winning two Grammy awards, T-Pain has worked with Rick Ross, Chris Brown, Kanye West, Ludacris and other big names in hip-hop and R&B.
T-Pain said he plans to continue contributing to country music despite his desire to be no longer credited as a songwriter.
“I’m a ghostwriter [and] it’s just easier,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “Why not? I’m not in it for fame. I want to make sure my kids are straight [and] make sure their kids are good. I’ll be fine.”
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