EXCLUSIVET-Pain Reveals How He Made 2007 Song 'Buy U a Drank' Into a Decades-Long Hit: 'That Was the Mission'
T-Pain was on a 'mission' when creating the song 'Buy U a Drank.'
He's T-Pain — you know him. He'll talk to you and maybe even "Buy U a Drank."
T-Pain, born Faheem Rashad Najm, reflects on his iconic career during an exclusive chat with OK! while promoting his partnership with State Farm for Season 3 of Gamerhood, which fans can stream on State Farm Twitch and State Farm YouTube as contestants battle for the key to Neo City and $100K charitable donation.
T-Pain opened up to OK! about his career in the spotlight.
When asked how it feels to have a song like "Buy U a Drank" remain at the top of charts more than a decade after it was released in 2007, T-Pain admits, "it feels normal to me."
"That's what we did back in the early 2000s. That's what we were poised to do. That was the mission," he notes while comedically comparing the fan-favorite smash to a lavish meal.
T-Pain doesn't think they make music like they used to.
"I always compare it — like gourmet food to fast food. Right now, it's just fast food," he says, acknowledging how present-day musicians don't make music like they used to. "You get satisfied for a minute. You're hungry again in an hour. Your favorite artist of today, you can't name a song of theirs from two months ago. So, you know what we did? We tried to make classics, we tried to make things that would last longer than two months. It's not just a a a quick meal. It's a gourmet thing that's going to take a long time to make and it's going to last longer. It is just not fulfilling anymore."
Being in the spotlight for so many years never stressed T-Pain either.
The award-winning artist doesn't 'separate' his work and family life.
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When it comes to finding a balance between work and family, the 39-year-old — who shares his daughter Lyriq and sons Muziq and Kaydnz with his wife, Amber Najm — explains: "You don't really separate it."
"You gotta be the same person on and off camera," he notes. "You gotta be who you are. You know, be yourself. Some people are playing a caricature of themselves on camera and that's when things get unbalanced. When you gotta be this bright, shiny person on camera, but you're super depressed at home. Nobody wants to do that. That's terrible."
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T-Pain has been gaming his 'whole life.'
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"I keep my wife with me, she's always driving with me. I keep my kids with me. The family is part of it. It's not a separate thing," T-Pain declares. "It's not a balance to where it's like, 'How do I keep my family happy when I gotta make everybody else?' My family is my family and everybody else just gets to see that."
In addition to being a doting dad, husband and award-winning artist, T-Pain has had a passion for gaming throughout the majority of his life — which is why it was a "no-brainer" to partner with "a company like State Farm" after he heard they were "getting into gaming and things that are already my passion."
"I've been gaming all my life and I've been streaming since 2014. I was just like, 'Why not?' It'd be weird if I didn't," he jokes. "I'm a variety streamer. I kind of play all games. I try everything. It's just been a part of my life. A lot of people these days are getting into gaming because they see financial opportunities and things like that. But this has just been a part of my life."
