Lizzo tells T-Pain modern rap would sound different without him
Complex reports that T-Pain credited Kanye West with using Auto-Tune before him.
File photo of T-Pain at the March 2019 iHeartRadio Music Awards, unrelated to the later livestream. Glenn Francis (Toglenn) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Resized for display.
In the livestream exchange reported by Complex on October 29, Lizzo framed T-Pain’s influence as foundational to modern rap. T-Pain said he used to think about his impact, then redirected the credit: Kanye West had used Auto-Tune before him. The clip was uploaded October 28.
The sound was bigger than the question of who used it first
That distinction matters. This was not a claim that T-Pain invented pitch correction or used it first: Complex traces the technology to the late 1990s and reports T-Pain crediting Kanye as an earlier user. Complex describes how T-Pain’s distinctive vocal approach helped make Auto-Tune a defining pop-rap sound in the 2000s.
After signing to Akon’s Konvict Muzik in 2004, T-Pain scored early hits with “I’m Sprung” and “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper)” in 2005. Complex counts 13 Hot 100 top-10 entries between 2007 and 2008, including three No. 1s: Flo Rida’s “Low,” Chris Brown’s “Kiss Kiss,” and T-Pain’s own “Buy U a Drank.” He also shared a Grammy win with Kanye West for “Good Life.”
The mainstream turn brought pushback too: Jay-Z’s 2009 “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)” targeted the sound as it spread. Complex points to current uses by Travis Scott and Ken Carson. The exchange gives T-Pain room to recognize his influence while keeping that history bigger than a single “first” claim.
