Rappa ternt sanga T-Pain has one of the top singles in the country with ”Buy U A Drank,” but just a few years ago, the Florida Native couldn’t even by himself a drank, or a cheeseburger for that matter!T-Pain, born Faheem Najm, had tried for years to make it big in the industry, producing music for others as well as performing in the rap group Nappy Headz. But, operating on aspiration alone doesn’t pay. T-Pain was broke. Luckily for him, singer and producer Akon stepped in and signed T-Pain to his label Konvict Music.
AP: Did you ever think about giving up your musical dreams?
T-Pain: “Yes. The most horrible time was the day that Akon called me. He called me right when I went to get my application from McDonald’s. I was giving up. I was literally in my dad’s house renting my studio out, running it off of a generator outside. People couldn’t even record. The people who lived behind us was calling the police because of the noise ordinance because they heard the generator all day and all night. I was eating mayonnaise out of the jar. It was bad. I used to sit in front of McDonald’s and ask people for dollars to get me a cheeseburger. It was bad. Then that one day I went to go get that application. I had been hanging out in front of there so much I knew the managers and all. I had no problem getting a job or anything. I went to go get that application and that’s when Akon called me.”
Hmm, I wonder what life would be like for T-Pain (and the rest of us) if his phone was turned off!!