Visiting Artist Series: T-Pain (Virtual Event)
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T-Pain
Image courtesy of the artist
The Berklee Visiting Artist Series is a live, interactive forum featuring some of today's most innovative professional performers and creators. These moderated discussions will focus on the topics of artistry, entrepreneurship, and social justice, and students will have the opportunity to actively participate by posing questions directly to guests. This event features a live interview with Grammy-winning artist T-Pain, moderated by Tom Baskett, assistant professor in the Voice Department.
By 2007, T-Pain had the game in a chokehold, topping the charts with his album Epiphany, which carried the colossal single “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’).” With this follow-up to his first album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, the Tallahassee, Florida, native continued to deliver high-energy, charismatic tunes and to garner a gargantuan fan base. He collaborated with everyone from Lil' Wayne (they're collectively known as T-Wayne) to Taylor Swift while grabbing two Grammys: one for his collaboration with Kanye West on 2008’s "Good Life" (off West’s Graduation) and the other with Jamie Foxx on 2010’s "Blame It" (off Foxx’s Intuition). His projects Thr33 Ringz (2008) and RevolveЯ (2011) both proved T-Pain’s staying power in an ever-changing market and showcased the artist’s personality and skill, both reflected in his music and his celebrity status (see his cameo on Saturday Night Live's comedy troupe the Lonely Island’s Grammy-nominated track "I'm on a Boat").
After dominating hip-hop and R&B for over five years, including the creation of an auto-tune app and a Super Bowl commercial, T-Pain went silent, but returned shortly after to drop two more efforts, including 2015’s Stoicville: The Phoenix and 2017’s Oblivion. He raised the stakes in 2018, launching his clothing line, Wiscansin University; locking a TV series with Fuse called T-Pain’s School of Business; hosting Red Bull’s Remix Lab; and finding his way to Good Morning America thanks to his "Catchy Song" for the Lego Movie 2 soundtrack.
In 2019, T-Pain kept the momentum going, and at the close of February dropped his long-awaited 1UP project via Cinematic Music Group. From the title track to the singles “A Million Times” (with O.T. Genasis), “All I Want” (with Flipp Dinero), and “Getcha Roll on” (with Tory Lanez), T-Pain proved once again that not only is he the master of auto-tune, but also he can finesse his own natural chops as he did on the Masked Singer stage. Other cuts, including “Here It Comes” (with Russ) and “Goat Talk” (with Lil' Wayne), further that claim. T-Pain is a star and has been since he first entered the scene. If there’s one valuable lesson to glean from his life, it’s consistency. As a singer, songwriter, producer, and entertainer, he has spent his career bringing the masses together with feel-good music. The party won’t stop here: T-Pain is only getting started.
How to Participate
RSVP in the Berklee Career Manager. Once you are registered, we will send you a link to access the Zoom webinar 24 hours before the event.
Faculty and staff who wish to attend the event may request access. For questions, please contact Liza Levy, talent relations manager.