T-Pain Says Usher Told Him He Ruined Music

Since T-Pain burst onto the scene (solo) with his acclaimed debut album Rappa Ternt Sanga in 2005, he's made use of the autotune voice-changing technology to create a unique sound throughout his career. Inspired by his use of the technology, countless artists across genres have used it to make their voices have a smoother sound.

Speaking on Netflix's new docuseries This Is Pop, T-Pain revealed that a conversation with Usher aboard a plane, headed to the 2013 BET Awards, changed his life significantly. Sitting in first class and having fallen asleep, T-Pain was woken up by a flight attendant who told him that Usher wanted to speak to him.

T-Pain went back to see Usher and the two exchanged small pleasantries briefly before Usher hit him with a message that impacted him to his core: "You kind of fucked up music."

Initially shocked by what Usher said, T-Pain continued on in the conversation, thinking that perhaps he hadn't heard Usher right — after all, he considered the R&B legend to be a friend. But T-Pain said that Usher continued on, doubling down on the claim by saying that T-Pain messed up music for "real singers."

T-Pain was surprised and, in the clip from the show that was shared, he still, eight years later, seems confused. "Literally, I couldn't listen," he said, before asking himself, both out loud and internally, "Did I fuck up music?"

Wrapping up the brief clip, T-Pain explained how Usher's sudden bashing of him would go on to impact his life over time. "That is the very moment — I don't even think I realized this for a long time, that started a four-year depression period," he said.

For more of this conversation and others related to pop, tune in to Netflix's This Is Pop that was released today (June 22).

Photo via Getty for Michael Jordan Celebrity Invitational/ Isaac Brekken