Just prior to the release of his The Iron Way mixtape, which came out last Friday (March 27), T-Pain revealed that he had an Aaliyah collaboration planned for the project, however, when it came to release time, the cut didn’t end up on the final tracklist.
Now, speaking with Vulture, T-Pain offered an update on the status of the collaboration, promising fans they’ll hear it soon.
“The reason we held it back on the mixtape is actually because we got a call from her team, and they wanted to put it on her album,” T-Pain revealed. “So that song’s gonna be on her album, Aaliyah X, which is basically like her final album. It’s full of collaborations and unheard vocals.”
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That project, T-Pain says, will be released “pretty soon.”
“They had like a ten-year wait, so pretty soon, actually. I can’t give any details from it, because it’s like a secret project — except for, you know, that it’s happening. But details on it have been held back.”
T-Pain Speaks On The Contemporary Use Of Auto-Tune
Earlier in the conversation, T-Pain revealed his views on the current state and use of auto-tune in the industry. Although he believes the usage of auto-tune is no longer frowned upon as much as it once was, he notes that artists cannot simply rely on its advantages to make a hit record.
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“At this point, I don’t think anybody cares anymore,” T-Pains says. “If you hear any evidence of auto-tune, it’s just like, ‘Alright, they’re using it, too.’ It’s not good or bad. People have just come to terms with it. But it’s always been about the lyrics for me. People always say that if you just use auto-tune, then you’ve got a hit song. But you actually have to write a song. You can’t just yell and talk about cereal on a track, and put auto-tune on it and have a smash song. You still need to write a good song; it’s not really about how well you’re using [auto-tune].”
T-Pain also touched upon his role as an early pioneer of the use of auto-tune, saying he loved what he did with it.
“No, I never regret it,” T-Pain says. “Look at the industry now. It’s changed so much, and I feel great about that. And if I hadn’t done it, someone else would be able to say what I’m saying right now. So it’s actually pretty cool. I’m known for it, and it’s good to be known for anything. So I love that I did it. I always expected to get the backlash for it, because any originator of anything always gets the most hate from the actual thing that they created or innovated.”
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Elsewhere, T-Pain detailed how he wound up making a cameo appearance in the upcoming Furious 7 movie, set to hit cinemas in the United States tomorrow (April 3).
“I think it was from the excessive hanging out that me, Tyrese, and Vin Diesel were doing [laughs],” T-Pain says. “I was always on set with them, and one day they were like, ‘Hey, man, do you wanna get in on this thing?’ and of course, I’m not gonna say no to that. So I got to be a part of this whole Fast and the Furious legacy.”
To read the full interview, visit Vulture.
