T-Pain became depressed after Usher said he “fucked up music for real singers”

T-Pain says he struggled with depression for four years after being told by Usher that he “fucked up music for real singers”.

This Is Pop, the new Netflix documentary exploring pop songs and their origins saw T-Pain opening up about the incident, which took place on a plane in 2013.

The singer says he was asleep on the plane when he was called to the back by Usher, who criticized him for using auto-tune in his music.

“I got up and went back and was like ‘How’s everything going?’ Quick small talk, no big deal,” he describes. “He was like ‘I want to tell you something, man.’ I was like, ‘What’s good?’ He sounded real concerned. He was like, ‘Man, you kinda fucked up music.’ I didn’t understand. Usher was my friend. He was like, ‘Nah, man, you really fucked up music for real singers.’"

“Literally at that point, I couldn’t listen. Is he right? Did I fuck this up? Did I fuck up music? That is the very moment – and I don’t think I even realised this for a long time – that’s the very moment that started a four-year depression for me.”

Find the clip below. The full episode is available on Netflix now.

Tope Olufemi is Mixmag’s Digital Intern, follow them on Twitter