Faheem Rashad Najm (born September 30, 1984), known professionally as T-Pain, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer, widely recognized for his innovative use of Auto-Tune.
His distinctive style, marked by heavy pitch correction with extreme settings, helped popularize electronic-styled vocals, blending them seamlessly with R&B and hip hop throughout the 2000s.
This approach influenced other artists such as Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Future, and Travis Scott, who adopted similar vocal effects.
T-Pain began his career as part of the hip hop group Nappy Headz before launching his solo career.
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His independent debut mixtape, *Back @ It* (2004), caught attention and led to a signing with Akon’s label, Konvict Muzik, in partnership with Jive Records.
His breakthrough came in 2005 with the hit single “I’m Sprung,” which reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned platinum certification.
He followed up with another successful single, “I’m ‘n Luv (wit a Stripper)” featuring Mike Jones, which peaked at number five. Both tracks were featured on his debut album *Rappa Ternt Sanga* (2005).
T-Pain’s second album, *Epiphany* (2007), marked a commercial high point, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200.
The album produced the chart-topping hit “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” featuring Yung Joc and the top-40 single “Bartender” featuring Akon.
His third album, *Three Ringz* (2008), was led by the hit single “Can’t Believe It” featuring Lil Wayne, while his fourth album, *Revolver* (2011), included the single “5 O’Clock” featuring Wiz Khalifa and Lily Allen.
His fifth album, *Oblivion* (2017), faced delays and was less commercially successful, marking the end of his major label releases.
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Throughout his career, T-Pain found further success as a featured artist on several top-ten Billboard Hot 100 singles, including “Shawty” by Plies, “Cyclone” by Baby Bash, “Good Life” by Kanye West, and “Blame It” by Jamie Foxx.
His collaborations on “Kiss Kiss” by Chris Brown and “Low” by Flo Rida both topped the charts, with “Low” earning diamond certification and being ranked third on Billboard’s Hot 100 Songs of the Decade.
T-Pain won two Grammy Awards, one for Best Rap Song (“Good Life”) and another for Best Rap/Sung Performance (“Blame It”).
In addition to his music career, T-Pain founded his own label, Nappy Boy Entertainment, in 2005.
He also expanded into production, songwriting, and voice acting, with appearances in projects like *Tom & Jerry*, *Freaknik: The Musical*, *The Cleveland Show*, *Squidbillies*, and *We Bare Bears*.