T-Pain is ready to take on weekend three in Indio, this time at Stagecoach. The beloved musician shares his journey of performing on the main stage at Coachella, discusses the new ideas he’s bringing to Stagecoach, reflects on Beyoncé, Shaboozey, and other Black musicians breaking through in country music, talks about how Wiscansin Fest came to life and how he got GloRilla to join, and opens up about his resurgence and more!
Are you excited to see T-Pain at Stagecoach? Let us know in the comments below!
Are you excited to see T-Pain at Stagecoach? Let us know in the comments below!
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MusicTranscript
00:00It's so great because I know what everybody thinks that I haven't had time to make a new show.
00:04It's completely different.
00:07I'm king of the town, you can take a look around.
00:10Jaddy Pinderay, Johnny Digger, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, bop.
00:14Out here in NDO hanging out with my boy T-Pain.
00:17Yes, sir. Yes, sir.
00:18This is what, weekend three of this for you?
00:20Weekend three. Yeah, man.
00:21Most people say, oh, weekend one, weekend two.
00:23Weekend three for T-Pain. This is three.
00:25This is, wow, man, I'm so proud of you.
00:27But you've been streaming the whole time, like, keeping people involved.
00:29So how has that been to, like, have people along for this journey with you?
00:32It's okay, man. You know what I'm saying?
00:33It's more frustrating than anything.
00:36Can't get in the pool as much as I want to.
00:38That's why I'm so ashy right now.
00:39I just got out the pool, so, you know, everything.
00:42I'm just ashy. I'm just made of all ashy.
00:44What's been the life?
00:45I mean, how is it to, like, kind of have people in your personal space?
00:48Because, like, some people, I don't know how many hours you do in sets,
00:51but, like, when you got a shower, use the bathroom, you need some private time.
00:54Like, how is it to be doing?
00:55I don't really have, like, personal time. You know what I mean?
00:57Like, I've grown up, like, I got signed when I was 18.
01:00So I don't even know what personal life is.
01:02Like, you know what I'm saying?
01:03So it's always been public.
01:05You know, going to the bathroom is pretty easy.
01:07Set the camera is just right above the nipple.
01:10And you can tell, like, hey, hold on for about 15 minutes.
01:15And they're chill with it.
01:16Yeah. Or just, you know, also, there's hundreds of thousands of other people streaming.
01:20You don't have to stay here for this.
01:22Go talk to them.
01:23Come back and see me.
01:24Come back and see me, yes.
01:25Doing both. You're doing both.
01:26And with these three weekends, I have to talk about even my festival journey with you,
01:29because, like, I'm from Georgia, by the way.
01:30Yeah, yeah.
01:31So I saw you, like, 20 years ago when I was in college performing.
01:33Do you remember that theme park in Valdosta?
01:35Oh, yeah. That was my first show.
01:36Oh, really? Are you kidding me?
01:37That was my very first solo show.
01:39I did not know that.
01:40That was my very first solo show.
01:41I was at that show, my friend.
01:42I was opening up for Brian McKnight.
01:43Yeah.
01:44Oh, my God. That's wild.
01:45Yeah.
01:46I didn't know that.
01:47I still got a DVD of that.
01:48That's crazy.
01:49But what I was thinking about when I saw you at Coachella was that, like, I saw you
01:53last year at the Celsius party.
01:55Yeah, yeah.
01:56And I was like, he was outside the Coachella last time pouring the parties, and now in the
02:01gates, and then now a stagecoach.
02:02So that journey for you, what's that been like, and what's it feel like to be out in
02:05the fields, in NDO, at the Empire Park?
02:07The thing is, I know I'm not, like, a person to try to, like, prove myself or anything like
02:12that.
02:13So I know, like, over the years, the officials at Coachella hadn't really been seeing anything
02:18I've been doing because I haven't been like, look at me.
02:21Check this out.
02:22Here's this show.
02:23Here's how great my show is.
02:24So, you know, when I got the offer to come do, you know, the things outside of Coachella,
02:28I knew that was them kind of testing to see, like, let's just see if he's entertaining
02:33at all.
02:34And then I just did it with another just me and a DJ.
02:36Dude, you were lit.
02:37Didn't even have a script.
02:38You were so lit.
02:39Yeah.
02:40And nothing.
02:41Right.
02:42Just like you said, just dancing and living your life.
02:43Because you got hits.
02:44Right.
02:45People don't always have hits to fall back on.
02:46You don't have hits.
02:47And then, you know, you can make your show longer.
02:49You know, because those were short shows that I did.
02:51So, you know, once they figured out, all right, maybe, let's see what he can do.
02:56And then they put me on the Heineken stage.
02:58And then I overflowed the Heineken stage.
03:00People were jumping fences.
03:02It was too many people to hold in that area.
03:04And that's when they had no choice.
03:06But, all right, put him on the main stage.
03:08He did it.
03:11And then from the main stage to now Stagecoach.
03:17So, tell me how you felt coming to this night.
03:20It's like two weekends of Coachella and now Stagecoach is giving you this whole new vibe.
03:23Yes.
03:24The country audience.
03:25What are you bringing to the stage?
03:26It's so great because I know everybody thinks that I haven't had time to make a new show.
03:31It's completely different.
03:34I love that.
03:35I'm talking about whole new set, whole new set list.
03:38You know, we switched up dancers.
03:40We switched up bands.
03:41Like, everything is different.
03:43Brand new wardrobe.
03:45I know that seemed like a lot that I did on Coachella.
03:48But I still had time to make a whole new stage and new set list.
03:52Like, even the songs are in a different order and everything.
03:54Wow.
03:55This has been a long three weeks for you.
03:56Yeah.
03:57You know, we work, man.
03:58You know, I have a company called Nappy Boy Live.
04:01And basically, it's a service.
04:02You know, when people started saying that I have a really good show, I started telling people how I do it.
04:07And then I was like, well, why don't I just do that for other people?
04:10With everything that I do for my show, we have that service for everybody else.
04:15I love it, man.
04:16Yes, sir.
04:17And then, I mean, what do you feel about like how the country community has embraced you?
04:20You are performing at Morgan Wallace Festival as well.
04:22Yes.
04:23Yes.
04:24That's going to be awesome.
04:25I think the country scene kind of embraces me because most of my style is country.
04:32Like, a lot of the things that I do, even my harmonies, the way I write songs, a lot of that came from, like, it was like three years of all I listened to was country music.
04:41This was before I got signed.
04:42This was before anybody knew who I was.
04:44So, even the harmonies on my first song, I'm Sprung.
04:47That all came from country music.
04:53So, it's a familiarity.
04:54Yeah, we know Georgia boys.
04:56You know what I'm saying?
04:57Yeah, you know what I'm saying?
04:58So, we super country in that sense already.
05:00So, again, it's a familiarity and it just, it's a nostalgic kind of organic feel that's already in my music.
05:10So, it's like, yeah, you know, he rocked with us.
05:12And also, you know, I ain't a gangster, so that helps.
05:15That helps.
05:16I'm done with you.
05:17He said I'm not a gangster.
05:19No, and I mean, also, I feel like you've been very honest about, like, what you went through as a songwriter.
05:23Absolutely.
05:24And, like, feeling, like, not accepted.
05:26Right, right, right.
05:27Not feeling respected for your talent, your voice, your songwriting skills.
05:29Yeah.
05:30I mean, has that changed now that you've, like, felt a little bit more embraced with all the collaborations and things?
05:35Yeah, it hasn't changed.
05:37I think I realized I was looking for the wrong people to accept me.
05:42I think I was looking for the wrong validation.
05:45I came up in this game just like, you know, these people got to mess with you or you ain't doing it.
05:51Or these people got to mess with you or, man, you get the attention of these people.
05:55Somebody that had your back, Kesha.
05:56Absolutely.
05:57Man, the new song is a bop, by the way.
05:58Thank you, I appreciate it.
05:59It's so, so good.
06:00It's just, like, classic, you know, that good music we've been listening for.
06:02Absolutely.
06:03When you have a track like that, how do you feel about, like, how people have kind of, like, embraced, again, hip-hop.
06:08Yeah.
06:09Us black people.
06:10With the country music space.
06:11You got Shaboozy.
06:12Mm-hmm.
06:13You know, Beyonce.
06:14Post Malone is even hip-hop kind of going country.
06:15How do you feel about, like, the way the genre shifted in that way?
06:18I think it's a step forward.
06:20I think, you know, music industry-wise and genre bending, you know, it's always been a thing, right?
06:27It's breaking...
06:28Big extra plug doing a country song is crazy.
06:31Breaking through now.
06:32You know what I'm saying?
06:33It's like the zombie apocalypse.
06:34Once they get through that first door, we got a problem.
06:37Because the rest of them coming.
06:38The rest of them is coming.
06:40Now you got the big bloaters coming, you know what I'm saying?
06:42You know what I'm saying?
06:43So, you know...
06:44I was just watching Last of Us.
06:45I'm sorry.
06:46But no, man.
06:49Like, you know, once Beyonce breaks in, like, the door is off the hinges now.
06:55It's not even...
06:56You can't even close it now.
06:57It's wide open.
06:58We are here.
06:59Right.
07:00What are you going to do?
07:01Yeah.
07:02You can't protect the fort with a sliding glass door.
07:04I love that.
07:05And then we're not getting here.
07:07I mean, listen.
07:08And you...
07:09We're talking about how you're, like, an entrepreneur.
07:10You keep grinding.
07:11Yeah.
07:12First of all, as my good friend Megan Trainor has told you, rhyming Wisconsin is probably
07:18the best thing you ever did.
07:19I appreciate it.
07:20I appreciate it.
07:21Me and her both feel very strong about that.
07:22But you got the festival coming up.
07:23I got the festival coming up.
07:24So, tell me about Wisconsin and why you want to start this.
07:25It just keeps getting bigger and bigger, man.
07:27It's just something...
07:28It started out as just like a party we were having.
07:30You know what I mean?
07:31It was like a college-themed kind of pep rally kind of party kind of thing.
07:34But it just kept getting bigger and bigger.
07:36And we took it to actually, you know, to Wisconsin.
07:39Sorry, everybody else.
07:41We actually took it to Milwaukee.
07:44And it started, you know, getting to bigger venues.
07:47And then we got into the rave.
07:48And it just started as like a stop on the tour.
07:52And then, you know, it was the last stop on the first tour.
07:55And then it was the first stop on the next tour.
07:58And then we just kept going back and forth.
08:00And now it's turned into this...
08:03It's a holiday now.
08:04You know what I mean?
08:05It's turned into, you know, we got T-Pain Day out there.
08:08And that's flourishing.
08:09We got the key to the city.
08:11The people love us.
08:12Well, some of them do.
08:13Some of them do.
08:14There's going to be a story coming up.
08:16It's going to be a story pretty soon that I can't talk about yet.
08:19But...
08:20Stay tuned.
08:21The Billboard exclusive.
08:22Boy.
08:23I'm going to flame y'all asses when I get this contract signed.
08:27Okay.
08:28But, you know, other than that, no, it's just been great, man.
08:30People love it.
08:31You know what I mean?
08:32The people come from outside of Wisconsin to come there.
08:35And this year, the lineup is incredible.
08:37I mean, come on.
08:38Did you pick some incredible people?
08:39Glorilla.
08:40Yeah.
08:41Yeah.
08:42How did you get her on it?
08:43How do you feel about her glow up?
08:44Most of these people are returning favors.
08:47Glow old.
08:48Yeah.
08:49For me, for stuff, you know, I do a lot of stuff, man.
08:52And again, right now, like, music is like a hobby for me.
08:55It's, you know, I'm doing a lot of stuff for free.
08:58I'm just showing up for people in different places.
09:00Like, you know, if I'm around the city, like, yeah, I'll stop by your show.
09:04I'll come out and blah, blah, blah.
09:05I love that.
09:06You know, and things like that kind of accumulate.
09:07It's a community vibe.
09:08It's a community vibe.
09:09It's a community vibe.
09:10And those things accumulate.
09:11And it's just like, hey, I just got one thing I need you to do.
09:1430 minutes.
09:15Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
09:16Just come on through.
09:17And I love that you got NLE involved, too.
09:19Yeah.
09:20He's such a young guy.
09:21And he's had, like, such a blow up and stuff with, like, being honest about himself
09:23and his community.
09:24Yes.
09:25Man, that's a thing that I wish that people would have let me do.
09:29I think this whole resurgence was cool.
09:32Like, you know what I mean?
09:33I would have loved to have the support and everything from the first time.
09:37You know what I mean?
09:38I've realized this time around, every time I show up somewhere, it doesn't have to be
09:43music related.
09:44Yeah.
09:45You know what I mean?
09:46I can be drifting cars.
09:47You know what I'm saying?
09:48We can be gaming.
09:49We can be doing the stuff that I actually enjoy doing instead of sweating my ass off for
09:5330 minutes, 60 minutes at a time.
09:55And the hot sun.
09:56Right.
09:57Because I know it was hot up there, my brother.
09:58Oh, my God.
09:59It was so hot.
10:00You see the second week.
10:01Shabuzzi both looked like y'all was like, it's so damn hot up here.
10:04The second week, jacket didn't have any sleeves.
10:06Turned those pants into shorts.
10:08Boy, my style was on it.
10:09Shout out to Seth.
10:10Thank you, brother.
10:11That was quick as hell.
10:12Man, I can't wait to see what you're going to do as stagecoach, man.
10:14That's going to be good, man.
10:15We really appreciate you sitting down with Bill Boyd.
10:16As you said, everybody want to be liked, man.
10:18We all just want to be liked.
10:19That's it.
10:20You're liked, man.
10:21You know, I appreciate it.
10:23Thank you, man.
10:24Yeah, yeah.
10:25Booyah!
10:26Let's go!
10:27Crack it, John!