T-Pain is no longer the man we once knew. His signature auto-tune voice was a staple in hip-hop and R&B for many years in the early to mid-2000s, as he appeared on hit records like “Low,” “Good Life,” “Got Money,” and “Kiss Kiss.”
While he’s still active as an artist, the Florida-based singer has clearly transitioned to a different part of his career where his voice is not quite prominent in the current music scene, but he still makes sure it’s heard in new and creative ways.
During a June 2021 interview with Steve-O on his “Wild Ride” podcast, the accomplished singer and songwriter shared, “I’m making more money off of video games than I have made in the last four years. Just playing them. Playing video games.”
Despite not being any good at the games he’s playing, he explains that is the reason people watch him, adding, “I think that’s what makes it better. I mean there are definitely good players out there that make a ton of money, but I think the entertainment that comes from somebody like me being trash at it, I think that’s just more valuable and more entertaining.”
Keep in mind, he said this three years ago. Video game streaming has only increased in popularity and has become a much more mainstream approach for notable figures on social media to make money.
During an interview earlier this year, T-Pain specified how much money he’s making playing video games, saying he makes, “$50,000 to $60,000 an hour.”
He even gave an example of how easily the money comes in for him, saying, “7-Eleven paid me $250,000 to play any game I wanted for two hours.” If it was that easy, I feel like a lot of people would make that transition.
Watch this recent video of the songwriter sucking at “Black Myth: Wukong.”
But despite his success in the streaming and gaming world, T-Pain is not entirely removed from the music industry.
In a video posted to Instagram in February, he revealed that he’s behind some of the most popular country songs in recent years, saying, “I done wrote a lot of country songs... Stopped taking credit for it because as cool as it is to see your name in those credits and s**t like that, the racism that comes after it is just like — I’ll just take the check.”
T-Pain is also taking other chances musically, like working with the founder and CEO of a multinational technology conglomerate to cover a rap song from the early 2000s to impress his wife: In November, Mark Zuckerberg collaborated with the veteran hitmaker to cover Lil Jon’s 2003 song with the East Side Boyz, “Get Low.”