NEED TO KNOW
T-Pain is opening up about where he stands with DJ Khaled.
In a Club Shay Shay interview released Wednesday, Nov. 26, the 41-year-old “Buy U a Drank” artist was asked what he’s learned throughout his 20 years in the music industry.
“Nobody is your brother,” the guest told host Shannon Sharpe.
After Sharpe, 57, advised T-Pain not to take it any further, T-Pain doubled down and said, “Nobody is your brother. Everybody’s your brother while they can use you. That is the quickest and the most consistent thing that I’ve learned through this whole thing.”
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When asked if he “had to learn that the hard way,” T-Pain agreed, later name-dropping the “Wild Thoughts” producer, 50.
“Anytime you need me, I’m here for you. Anytime you need me. But nah, bro. It’s that brother s—, nobody is your brother. I’ve had DJ Khaled and everybody done told me, ‘I’m your brother,’” he claimed. “Do not believe that s—.”
T-Pain, who collaborated with DJ Khaled on the 2010 hit “All I Do Is Win,” suggested his stance is nothing new.
“It’s very apparent. DJ Khaled knows how to move. He knows how to do things with different people,” the “Bartender” singer continued.
Still, he clarified, “It’s not a DJ Khaled type of thing. That’s just the first person I can think of.”
The singer went on to say there’s been “so many people” he’s helped during his years in music, and in most cases, those individuals are not reliable friends despite calling him a “brother.”
“‘You’re my brother. You’re my brother,’ ” he said. “And then none of that s— was reciprocated. None of that s— came back. None of that s— meant anything.”
“When people tell you how much you mean to them, don’t grab onto that,” T-Pain said, taking a moment as he appeared to become emotional. “When people tell you how much they can mean to you in return, that’s the s— you gravitate towards.”
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DJ Khaled has not publicly addressed T-Pain’s remarks as of Wednesday evening.
PEOPLE reached out to a representative for DJ Khaled for comment.
Wednesday’s Club Shay Shay episode isn’t the first time T-Pain has spoken out against his industry peers. In a 2021 Netflix series titled This Is Pop, T-Pain claimed that Usher told him that his auto-tuned songs “kinda f—ed up music.”
“I thought he was joking at first, but then he was like, ‘Yeah man, you really f—– up music for real singers,’ ” T-Pain said in the series.
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The remark sent him into “a four-year depression,” the “Can’t Believe It” singer said.
Usher later said he and T-Pain had a talk about the situation and were “good.”
“Private conversations for me have always been intended to uplift,” the “Confessions” singer told Billboard in August 2021. “But when or if people get pieces of it, they can always have some other interpretation.”
