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T-Pain Disses Karaoke Rappers For Stealing His Style

Posted Fri Nov 7, 2008 6:21pm PST by Billy Johnson, Jr. in Hip-Hop Media Training

T-Pain is not dissing Kanye, DJ Khaled or Akon. They appear in the video for his new swagger jacker diss track "Karaoke." T-Pain has also excluded Lil' Wayne from any of the venom he spews on the song that claims that unidentified artists have borrowed his style without permission. But even without naming names, the rappa ternt singa manages to create one of the year's funniest viral videos.

 

The video opens with T-Pain and Kanye in a men's restroom, suggesting Auto-Tune abuse. T-Pain exits to find a middle aged Asian man in a business suit performing his hit "Can't Believe It" on a karaoke stage. A frustrated T-Pain bum rushes the performance to salvage his song as his animated hype man DJ Khaled verbally assaults the audience of mainly elderly, seemingly out of place white people.

There is obviously genuine beef behind T-Pain's profanity filled accusations. But this may be the first hip-hop diss so funny (in video at least) that the attacks on other nameless rappers get lost in the humor.

Though I am a big T-Pain fan, I question his owning of the Auto-Tune/Vocoder/Talk Box sound in R&B and hip-hop music. For me, it was Roger Troutman who popularized the sound with his ‘80s hits with Zapp, "More Bounce To The Ounce" and "Computer Love."

But T-Pain does give the late Troutman and Teddy Riley a shout-out in the song.

Ironically, T-Pain is often knocked because he sings with the enhanced effects for which he is boasting. But why would he not enhance his vocals? He's not a true singer. Did you see him on the Hip Hop Honors Awards when he tried performing Keith's Sweat's "I Want Her" without the Auto-Tune? I am sure for a moment Teddy Riley, who produced the song, wasn't sure if he was being honored or roasted? It was that bad.

You can't argue, however, T-Pain's success. He has more mainstream hip-hop tracks on the charts than any other producer. And while some of you will argue with me, aside from his synthesized vocals, T-Pain does not have a signature production sound like Timbaland, the Neptunes or Dr. Dre, and that has helped him avoid over saturation. Before you try to call me out, you have to admit that his song "Can't Believe It," Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss," and Flo Rida's "Low," sound nothing alike, and T-Pain produced or or-produced them all.

162 Comments

1. Yahoo! Music User -
T-Pain should be the only one who uses the Auto Tune. Or It will Die Soon...

2. Yahoo! Music User -
nobody should use autotune. it's a total scam, especially when they use it at gigs. it's basically fraud isn't it, to use a machine to make sure your voice stays in tune? saying that, T-Pain is very cool

3. Teresa -
I like T-Pain and i think it is his destiny to use the auto tune and follow the great ones who came before him that used it.

4. dae h -
Ive Been complaining about auto-tune for a while and now he gets offended I'm just glad he switched his style, it was a good song- BUT! those poor people had to endure all that abuse ;lol

5. dae h -
Ive Been complaining about auto-tune for a while and now he gets offended I'm just glad he switched his style, it was a good song- BUT! those poor people had to endure all that abuse ;lol

6. AmirF -
t-pain only produced kiss kiss. Dj montay produced low and j.r. rotem produced the boss. it even says "j.r." in the beginning of the boss

7. darrell -
t-pain sucks. he think he is a good singer but without computers he sond worse than me and i cant sing to save my life. t-pain can really hurt a pair of ears with or without the computer........but do your thing player i aint mad at you.

8. Jacqy -
Idk if you can't song without a machines help, you shouldn't be a singer at all.




Ashlee Simpson...Lol

9. meme -
How can T-Pain diss someone for stealing something that didn't belong to him in the first place. Billy Johnson Jr was correct in saying that it was Rogert Troutman, NOT T-Pain who made the sound popular, T-pain just brought it back. If anybody should do any dissing it should be Roger, from the grave. By the way T-Pain you need to start paying the Troutman family their royalties.

10. __A_YAHOO_USER__ -
T-pain is Ugly!!he sucks

11. Yahoo! Music User -
Good people, it's a good thing that he's keeping the sound going. We all need to be reminded of the great one's that get them on there way thanks t-pain.

12. Donavan -
you really need to go back to peter frampton in the 70's, he was the first to use the auto tune and he ran his guitar and vioce thru it, so all the R&B people need to remember that R&B got its start from ROCK and ROLL and they will always be linked to eachother and by the way Roger Troutman got the design for his auto box from frampton but everybody forgets that piece of musical history. Check it out on google (who invented the auto box?) you will be suprised. BUT T- Pain do ya thing pimp, and dont let em' knock ya.

13. Yahoo! Music User -
how does he claim someone is "jacking" the style he "jacked". There is nothing creative about dude. He is just the latest to use it

14. Allisen -
T-PAIN IS THA BOMB WE ALL DIFFERENT SOUNDS

15. Yahoo! Music User -
You can say what you want, with or without the auto-tune, Pain is truly one of the most creative artist in the game.

16. the anti-liberal -
He sucks, along with all R&B, rap, and hip hop. His name is correct though. It is painful to listen to him.

17. Miranda -
T-Pain u r very sexy (hope u read dis 1 day)and I luv ur style....2 all da hatas if u don't like it get like it! Holla at DuttyRED on myspace boo!!! I have all of ur CDs. Keep it up.....1

18. A. Borne -
I would have to say what "style" is he talking about. The fact that people are doing karooke with it says that there is no style behind it. Next he will be mad P.T. Barnum stole his top hat idea.

19. Tamieka -
i love t-pain and his music i dont care if he use the auto box or not. and he's sexy.

20. Michael R -
I say my lee bwii no wat he is doin. He do wat ever he want to do.
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