T-Pain says he became depressed after Usher made comments about his use of Auto-tune

RCA Records

 T-Pain says he went through a years-long battle with depression after a conversation with Usher on a first-class flight to the BET Awards in 2013.

In episode two of Netflix's new series, This Is Pop, the singer and rapper revealed that Usher told him he messed up the music industry by capitalizing off the undeniable sound of Auto-tune in the early 2000s. 

It's the same Auto-tune effect T-Pain used on R. Kelly's "Same Girl" (Triple Up Remix) featuring Usher in 2007. 

"He was like, 'Nah, man, you really f***** up music for real singers,'" T-Pain recalls before pausing. "Literally, at that point, I couldn't listen, [wondering,] 'Is he right? Did I [mess] this up? Did I [mess] up music?'"

T-Pain says he didn't understand the statement coming from Usher, who he considered a "friend."

"That is the very moment, and I don't even think I realized this for a long time, but that's the very moment that started a four-year depression for me," he explains. "I came out, and I used Auto-Tune, but I wasn't the person that created it. That was Andy Hildebrand."

This Is Pop is available now on Netflix. The eight-part series explores untold stories from some of the most significant music moments in pop history, and features interviews with Chuck D, Babyface, Boyz II Men, Shania Twain, Backstreet Boys and many more.

Tuesday, June 22, 2021 at 2:32PM by Rachel George Permalink