T-Pain, also known as Faheem Rasheed Najm, is well known as an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. With 21 singles to his name, the artist started with some tunes that helped him rise to the top.
In 2005 T-Pain made his debut into the music industry with his first single, “I’m Sprung”. This song paved the way for his unique style of autotune, making it more and more popular among fellow artists.
T-Pain wrote and produced the single himself, making it a true representation of his style. This song went straight to “Top Ten Pop/R&B Hip-Hop”, a huge achievement for such an up and comer.
Absolute Tune
The rapper’s first single received a Platinum and a Silver certification, as well as staying at number 8 and 9 on the charts for a significant period of time. The top-ten tune was part of his Rappa Ternt Sanga album, which also did very well overall.
This specific song is said to have been dedicated to his wife Amber. By 2006, only a year after its release, “I’m Sprung” had sold over 1 million copies.
Some fans believe that the song is about his dedication to his wife and their marriage, as well as doing everything he can to make her happy.
Others believe he is communicating his struggle with appreciating his wife and almost giving it all up for something of lesser value.
Mixtapes and Stereos
At 8-years-old, the aspiring rapper taught himself how to play the national anthem on an old keyboard that his father found on the side of the road.
When Faheem was only 10-years-old he transformed his bedroom into a decked-out studio. This was the start of his career composing music, as well as belting out the odd tune.
While growing up in Tallahassee, he was part of the rap group “Nappy Headz”. Their first hit was a song called “Robbery”.
The group became quite popular down south, allowing them to tour around Florida and the South East.
Nappy Headz was successful for four years strong before losing the interest of their fans. This began their decline, which T-pain used to motivate his rise to fame.
The group are all still very much in touch and connected, even after T-Pain went on to pursue his solo career. They recently reconnected over the death of a fellow bandmate’s tragic death.
Auto Auto Autotune
It is said that T-Pain’s biggest inspiration for his music was Cher’s song “Believe”. He took the concept of autotune from her, to make something fresh in the R&B world.
However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the aspiring artist. While on tour, at the beginning of his career, he found out that his father was addicted to Cocaine.
After learning that his mother had left his father for cheating on her, he soon realized that he was the only one unaware of his antics. He had allegedly been addicted to drugs for years and everyone around him knew.
Finally, his autotuning paid off, when he released a cover online of one of Akon’s songs. Akon called T-Pain to sign him to his record label, however, the young rapper hung up on him.
After such disbelief, he didn’t believe that the phone call was actually from Akon. Thankfully, they were reconnected and he was signed to Konvict Muzik not long after.