美国国家公共电台 NPR--Rapper T-Pain has a simple message for people who think he can't sing – shut up

Rapper T-Pain has a simple message for people who think he can't sing – shut up

Transcript¹

When you think of the rapper T-Pain, the first word that comes to mind might be auto-tune.

At the beginning of the 38-year-old rapper's career, he took over the Billboard² Hot 100 with his use of the vocal³ effect. The modulation⁴ added to his voice created a texture⁵ that was foreign to the industry, and T-Pain's career took off. Multiple platinum⁶ rated records, two Grammy wins and a laundry list of other awards, the success and accolades⁷ came pouring in.

But T-Pain tells Morning Edition's Leila Fadel that he wasn't ready for the massive amount of responsibility – and money – that came with it.

"I was 19 years old at the time," T-Pain says. "I was just sitting outside McDonald's hoping someone would give me a dollar for two cheeseburgers. I wasn't ready for millions of dollars right then."

He also believed that management would routinely ask him to do things to further their own interests, rather than his.

"They weren't working for me, they were just working me," T-Pain says. "I'm not a really big sports guy, but one time management made me redo the Miami Dolphins fight song just so they can get season tickets. I didn't want to do that."

T-Pain views those early points of his career as a lesson, both how to deal with success, but also how to deal with the hate – which he received tons of.

He was attacked by critics and peers alike for what they perceived as his lack of singing ability. The industry also became saturated⁸ with others covering for their singing deficiencies with auto-tune, and T-Pain was singled out as the source of the problem.

On Netflix's This is Pop series, T-Pain revealed an encounter he had with fellow R&B star Usher⁹ in 2013, where Usher told T-Pain that he had "f****d up music for real singers." T-Pain marked that moment as the beginning of a 4 year depression.

T-Pain's NPR Tiny Desk concert

For many, it wasn't until his performance on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series that they realized that he had a powerful natural singing voice. His stripped-down renditions of some of his biggest hits such as 'Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin')' and 'Up Down' went viral, and is still one of the most viewed concerts in the series.

He also won the inaugural¹⁰ season of the show The Masked Singer, which pits celebrities¹¹ against each other in an anonymous¹² singing contest.

And in March, he released On Top of the Covers, an album chock full of his rendition of classic songs from a variety of genres¹³, all done in his natural voice.

T-Pain insists he doesn't have anything left to prove. Still, he says his Tiny Desk sent a message to people who don't trust his singing abilities.

"Here you go," T-Pain says. "Everybody wants to hear this song in my style with no auto-tune, here you are. Shut up."

Music isn't T-Pain's sole focus these days. He has his own music label and his own podcast. But they are just hobbies.

"My family is my main thing now. [Music] is not a demanding thing anymore. It's not like 'I'm not going to be able to survive if I don't keep making hits.' I don't have that pressure anymore. I'm actually in a good place."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 billboard   

n.布告板，揭示栏，广告牌

参考例句：

• He ploughed his energies into his father's billboard business.他把精力投入到父亲的广告牌业务中。
• Billboard spreads will be simpler and more eye-catching.广告牌广告会比较简单且更引人注目。

3 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

4 modulation   

n.调制

参考例句：

• The soft modulation of her voice soothed the infant. 她柔和的声调使婴儿安静了。
• Frequency modulation does not allow static to creep in. 频率调制不允许静电干扰混入。

5 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

6 platinum   

n.白金

参考例句：

• I'll give her a platinum ring.我打算送给她一枚白金戒指。
• Platinum exceeds gold in value.白金的价值高于黄金。

7 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

8 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

9 usher   

n.带位员，招待员；vt.引导，护送；vi.做招待，担任引座员

参考例句：

• The usher seated us in the front row.引座员让我们在前排就座。
• They were quickly ushered away.他们被迅速领开。

10 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

11 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

12 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

13 genres   

（文学、艺术等的）类型，体裁，风格( genre的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Novel and short story are different genres. 长篇小说和短篇小说是不同的类别。
• But confusions over the two genres have a long history. 但是类型的混淆，古已有之。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译