T-Pain: I can learn new things from Filipino artists

MANILA, Philippines - Multi-platinum rap/R&B artist/producer and two-time Grammy winner T-Pain — yes, the king of auto-tune wave — knows he has throngs of young followers in the Philippines, but is too humble to admit he barely knows anything about the tropical islands except for its “beautiful women” and the people’s passion for music.

“All I know is that Filipino girls are beautiful, among the most beautiful in the world,” the Florida-born artist told Funfare in a one-on-one phone interview in New York City. “I was told Filipinos love to sing, and that you have so many great talents. I was told the country has a lot to offer and that’s what I intend to find out for myself.”

T-Pain, the man credited for revitalizing the auto-tune pitch distortion (or correction) effect, as a trend in today’s hip-hop and R&B music, is one of the four international superstars rocking Manila on Sept. 18 (at 8 p.m.) at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds.

The show called Supafest Manila 2010, billed as the biggest concert festival of the year, also features award-winning and top-selling artists Flo Rida, Sean Kingston and Kelly Rowland, who all have legions of Pinoy fans.

But T-Pain is first to assure fans that there’ll be no upstaging among the four superstars.

“It’s always a friendly game for us,” T-Pain proudly says. “We’re all good friends and we only want to do our best to come up with a good show for the fans. We wish each other good luck and then we enjoy performing for the crowd.”

“It’s just like coming from different teams and working together to give our respective fans great entertainment,” he says. “They spend money to have a great time and we will give them a great time, something they’ll never forget.”

T-Pain, the man behind Buy U A Drank, Bartender, Cyclone, Can’t Believe It, Kiss Kiss, Blame It, Low and I’m N Luv (Wit A Stripper), to name a few of his smash hits, has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry — Kanye West, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Akon, R. Kelly, Ludacris, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown and Ciara, among others.

And more A-List artists are calling him. And so it’s inevitable to ask him how it feels to be the most in-demand R&B and hip-hop artist/songwriter today?

“It feels great...I mean, hey, these are respected artists who like to work with me,” says T-Pain, who wishes to collaborate someday with one of the artists he truly respects, Andre 3000.

With his phenomenal success, T-Pain says he tries his best to keep his feet firmly on the ground as he focuses his energy on his craft and career. This, he said, also helps him stay in touch with fans.

“I try to be just a regular person, to be part of the crowd,” he confides. “I don’t try to be the most spectacular and I never brag. I always try to be one of the people, one of the guys, so they can relate more to my music and to what I’m saying.”

In his mind-boggling music videos (viewed by tens of millions on YouTube alone), T-Pain may come across as brawny and fierce, and one who lives in the fast lane. But behind that imprudent, tough guy persona is a loving husband and father of three, who would do everything in his power to protect and provide for the people he loves the most.

“I was just playing with my kids before this interview,” he tells Funfare. “I’ll go back and play with them after this.”

His wife and kids are the inspiration for his song Keep Going, a cut in his third successful album THR33 RINGZ.

“It took me a long time to get where I am now,” he reveals. “I won’t allow myself to lose everything that I’ve worked for, for myself and for my family.”

“I want to make sure that my kids live a good life,” he says firmly. “I went through a lot in life as a child and I’m going to make sure that if somebody’s life is in my hands that they’re not going to have to go through that. I’ll make sure I don’t get back to the kind of life I had before.”

T-Pain knows what it is like to struggle. He slept in cars and lived on food stamps. He was a musician at heart, but his Tallahassee, Florida hometown was lacking music industry opportunities.

And so he picked the stage name T-Pain (for ‘Tallahassee Pain’) that represents his plight growing up. Then he taught himself how to write songs and record music.

In 2003, T-Pain’s sly remake of Akon’s Locked Up caught the attention of music industry insiders, and the independent release of his R&B song I’m Sprung (dedicated to his wife Amber) led to a contract with Zomba Recordings. As the first single from his debut album Rappa Ternt Sanga, I’m Sprung was a success and became T-Pain’s first Top 10 single on Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 8.

One hit came after the other, and various honors and recognitions followed.

In 2008, he got his first Grammy for Best Rap Song (Good Life) with Kanye West. He got another one in 2010 for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or a Group (Blame It) with Oscar winner Jamie Foxx.

As T-Pain gains more control over his artistry while his clout in the industry grows, he knows the key to durability in the business is his evolution as an artist.

“You’ve got to be different and keep it consistent at the same time, which is super-hard to do,” he says in one interview. “I come different every time and that’s what people look for, what they expect.”

As part of that evolution, add movie actor to his thick resumé.

Yes, T-Pain has just appeared in his feature-film debut in the comedy Lottery Ticket, still in US theaters, topbilled by Bow Wow. T-Pain plays the exuberant liquor store owner who sells a young man (Bow Wow) living in the projects a winning lottery ticket worth $370-M.

“I just want to try acting and see what else I can do,” he told Funfare, chuckling. “It’s not like I’m gonna stop making music and concentrate on making movies. I know I’m not that great at acting. But why not if there are good roles for me.”

He got the part on Lottery Ticket through the film’s director, Erik White, who is also a longtime director of music videos.

“Man, this guy would be a great actor,” White told USA Today, referring to T-Pain. “He just was always very quick-witted and just a funny guy. People don’t realize that about T-Pain.”

T-Pain is also gearing up for the much-awaited launch of his fourth (and controversial) solo album, rEVOLVEr, with friends Flo Rida and Busta Rhymes featured in some of the songs. He confirmed that the new album has been completed and mastered, but won’t be released until 2011.

And in case you’re wondering who told T-Pain “beautiful” things about the Philippines and its women, its his friend apl.de.ap — or Allan Pineda, the Pampangueño superstar who is part of the world-famous and six-time Grammy winner Black Eyed Peas.

T-Pain was a special guest of the Black Eyed Peas in the North American leg of its world tour, and points out that Allan is the first and only Filipino artist he has met and worked with so far.

He says he is open to working with Filipino artists if an opportunity comes up.

“Why not,” T-Pain says. “Filipinos are music lovers and I heard there are a lot of good musicians and artists in the Philippines. Maybe I can even learn new things from them.”