T-Pain has revealed that the early stages of his career were both financially rewarding and detrimental in the long term.
During an open conversation with Vallejo rapper LaRussell, T-Pain spoke about the shocking and unfavorable conditions of his initial record contract, offering insight into the hurdles he encountered as a young artist in the music business.
Looking back at the contract, T-Pain disclosed the staggering difference between the profit split he received as an artist compared to what the label earned under the arrangement.
“My first deal. That whole first joint was 18… Oh no, it was 85-15 in the label’s favor, 85-15.” Initially, T-Pain was unfazed by the unequal terms, captivated instead by the substantial advance he was offered. “But they gave me crazy money, so I didn’t, never even thought about it. Didn’t even think about it. I didn’t even care, bro.”
The deal was completed swiftly, and T-Pain reflected on how the thrill of a significant advance masked any worries about the future consequences.
“They straight up were like, all right, deal’s done. Here you go,” he recounted. However, as time went on, T-Pain started to comprehend the full ramifications of the deal on his finances.
“Have you received a royalty check before? Oh yeah, a lot. I still get a lot of royalty. I’m probably never going to stop getting royalty checks,” T-Pain explained, but reality struck hard when he examined his contract closely. “I had to go look at my deal. I was like, oh, I’m about to get paid. And it was like, no, though not. And I was like, bro, there’s no way. And they were like, there’s all the way, because here’s your signature. Your stupid piece of…”
T-Pain admitted that his choice was motivated by greed and the persuasion of those nearby who urged him to accept the offer. “That was just from greed. And a bunch of people were like, bro, this is a lot of money. You need to take this. It was a huge advance. It was 40 million, but then 40 m’s to complete zero.”
Even with the tough lesson learned from his initial record deal, T-Pain has risen to great heights in the music industry. His debut album, 2005’s Rappa Ternt Sanga, featured chart-topping singles like “I’m Sprung” and “I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper),” establishing his reputation in the music realm. The album received a gold certification, and T-Pain continued to conquer the charts with his signature autotune style.
