His fans might think differently, but T-Pain’s reason for leaving music behind is pretty awesome. He claimed that he has made more money from gaming than his music in recent years.
The singer and rapper explained how his net worth has benefited hugely from spending time as a Twitch streamer, as reported by Revolt. Although he admitted that he’s not the world’s best gamer, T-Pain has still managed to find insane financial success through gaming.
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During his recent appearance on Wild Ride with Steve-O, the singer shared how his side gig has overtaken his music career over the past few years. He told Steve-O, “I’m making more money off of video games than I have made in the last four years.”
Even though he might not be as skilled as other gamers, T-Pain believed that his entertainment background helped him to stand out in the gaming world. He explained, “I think the entertainment that comes from somebody like me being trash at it, that’s more valuable and more entertaining.”
T-Pain’s First Contract Was Incredibly Unfair
T-Pain also opened up about his financial struggles while first trying to make it in show business. For example, he admitted that he wished he had learned more about the business side of the industry earlier in his career.
Although he quickly became a success, T-Pain’s early career was still challenging. According to All Hip Hop, his first record deal came with super harsh terms.
Looking back on the deal, T-Pain recalled the unfair revenue split. He also thought that the excitement of a large advance made him blind to what was really going on.
He told fellow rapper La Russell in an interview that the deal was 85-15 in his label’s favor. But they gave him such a large advance, he didn’t even think about the split.
Later on, he eventually understood the full impact of the deal terms. After he reviewed his contract, he was forced to face the reality of his financial situation.
He said, “Have you gotten a royalty check before? Oh yeah, a lot. I still get a lot of royalty. I’m probably never going to not get royalty checks.”
However, he added that after expecting to get huge payouts from royalties, he realized that the terms of his deal made this impossible. At one point, T-Pain faced severe financial troubles, even allegedly going broke.
But he was able to take the positives from his experience. He told La Russell that this allowed him to learn what the high end is and what the low end is.
He explained, “I’ve been mega-rich, I’ve been super broke, right in the middle of thinking I was mega-rich, and then got rich again.” His past had taught him the hard way how much he really cared about money.
T-Pain Hasn’t Entirely Quit Music
Despite the tough lessons learned from his first deal, T-Pain has achieved crazy success. His debut album, Rappa Ternt Sanga, released in 2005, included huge hits like I’m Sprung and I’m N Luv. The album was soon certified gold, solidifying his place in the music industry.
Despite his position in music, he was always on the lookout for new opportunities while reflecting on his past. Now, fortunately, thinking about the business side of music doesn’t look like it’s a problem for T-Pain anymore.
He hasn’t turned his back on music completely, though. Recently, the Buy U A Drank star surprised his fans with his inaugural Wiscansin Fest.
The festival featured performances from other artists like Lil Jon, Juvenile and Erica Banks. T-Pain had also received a special honor when he was celebrated with his own day in the state.
While on stage, he said that there was nothing that could describe what he felt in his heart other than pure, unmitigated gratitude. After so many plaudits and honors, it looks like the chance he took nearly three years ago by deciding to go independent has paid off.
T-Pain Makes More Gaming than Performing
According to the artist himself, it’s not paid off as much as his foray into gaming. His gaming income has now apparently outpaced what he earned from his music career.
It all started with his interest in streaming. His love for gaming was soon combined with his love for music, leading to a crazy partnership with Twitch. Now that he had learned from early mistakes in business, T-Pain wasn’t about to get exploited in his deal.
So, how much is T-Pain making from gaming? The answer might shock you.
He revealed the insane figure during an interview with music executive Jerry Clark on his podcast, Storytime With Legendary Jerry. T-Pain told Jerry that he earns $50,000 to $60,000 per hour playing video games.
But no one could’ve expected the impact streaming had on T-Pain’s interest in performing. He revealed that when people asked him to do shows, he had to tell them the truth.
The fact was that to get him out of the house he needed to be paid more than he was playing video games. T-Pain explained, “When you’re making $50 grand, $60 grand an hour playing video games in your drawers, it’s kind of hard to get me to go out of the country.”
T-Pain Remained Close with His Fans
But as well as being profitable and practical, gaming simply seems to be a passion for T-Pain. This is why he’s actually been doing it for a lot longer than people realize.
T-Pain has been gaming and streaming since 2014, eventually collaborating with State Farm on Gamerhood. Despite his retreat from music, T-Pain has maintained a close connection with his fans.
He has also opened up about how his iconic career remains important to him. His hit song Buy U A Drank remains popular more than a decade after its release.
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This led T-Pain to compare the music of his era to today’s music. According to the singer, music today doesn’t have the same staying power of music from his era.
He explained, “I always compare it like gourmet food to fast food. Right now, it’s just fast food.”
He continued, “You get satisfied for a minute. You’re hungry again in an hour. Your favorite artist of today, you can’t name a song of theirs from two months ago.”
T-Pain Is the Same Person on and off-camera
According to T-Pain, his plan was always to try to make classics that would last longer than two months.
Maybe moving on to streaming was always the smart thing to do anyway. Now that we know the ridiculous amount of money he’s been earning from video games, it’s even more of a no-brainer.
For T-Pain, hustling and working has always had to be in balance with more important things, like his family life. He talked about the importance of being consistent both on and off camera.
T-Pain said that there was no real separation between his work and family. For him, this meant being the same person on and off camera. He stressed that his family plays a central role in his life and career.
His wife, Amber Najm, and their children, Lyriq, Muziq, and Kaydnz, are a constant presence for him. Now that he has less need than ever to go out on the road to do shows, keeping his family close has never been easier.
So although fans might want to see more from T-Pain musically, there just looks like for him, streaming has literally no downside.
