T-Pain Called Collaboration With Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs ‘Discouraging’ and ‘A Pain’

Hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs worked with giants in the music industry before his arrest in September 2024. He rose to fame in the 1990s to 2000s. Unfortunately, the Homeland Security raids on two of his properties and Casandra “Cassie” Ventura’s allegations shone light on his past. Now, in the wake of the charges against Combs, we’re looking at what others in the music industry had to say about working with him. Here’s what T-Pain said about his “discouraging” experience with Combs.

T-Pain talked about his painful experience working with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Sean “Diddy” Combs has a lot of experience working with music professionals in the industry — and that includes Faheem Rashad Najm, better known as T-Pain. T-Pain rose to fame in 2005 at 21 years old and later worked with Combs. Unfortunately, T-Pain’s experience with Combs wasn’t easy. He explained the difficulties he experienced while on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.

An interviewer asked T-Pain who the “biggest pain in the a**” to work with throughout his career was — and he answered that “it’s a fairly easy question” to answer.

“I wouldn’t say pain in the a**, but Diddy was the most what he called motivating, and it was a little discouraging,” T-Pain explained. He went on to explain that he and Combs had a four-day recording session for one song, and Combs “would push” a process that T-Pain wouldn’t ordinarily follow.

“He tried to get you outside of your box,” T-Pain said. “That’s a little hard to do in a few hours. But, he would just look for, you start something, I put one track on the beat, and he’d be like, ‘Nope, that’s not it, go to the next one.’ I’m like, ‘Well, I didn’t … wait until I get the idea.’ [He’s like], ‘Nope, next one.'”

T-Pain reflected on Combs’ tendencies as ultimately helpful. “I think in the end, him being a pain in the a** kind of helped me be better with myself,” he reflected. “I push myself the way Diddy would push me.”

T-Pain said he once tried to give Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs a diamond chain — but Combs wouldn’t take it

T-Pain has additional stories concerning his experience with Sean “Diddy” Combs. He explained on AM Interviews with Angie Martinez that he once offered Combs and other hip-hop stars a Ciroc diamond chain. However, none of them accepted it.

T-Pain begins his story by explaining that he wore all-diamond chains representing Black-owned liquor companies — or so he thought. Later, he realized that the chains were not all from Black-owned companies. Later, he saw huge names in the hip-hop world, like Ludacris and Combs. “I’m trying to give them their respective chains,” he explained. ” … None of them take them.”

“I guess he thought I was drunk — we were in the club,” T-Pain added. “So, he thought I was drunk just giving away chains.”

The record producer called the hip-hop mogul ‘a boss in all aspects’

T-Pain had a lot of respect for Sean “Diddy” Combs as an established star in the hip-hop industry. While T-Pain said he had a difficult time working with Combs, he had nothing but respect for the mogul. During an interview with Genius Level, T-Pain explained the time when Combs told him he’d pay him for using autotune on his album, “Last Train to Paris” — a technology he popularized. To T-Pain’s surprise, Combs did pay.

“He stayed true to his word,” T-Pain said. “Diddy’s a boss in all aspects, so it turned into something that I can look back on and like, oh, OK, well somebody showed respect, somebody paid homage to it. It was a respect thing.”

The musician has yet to speak out against Combs’ indictment.

How to get help: In the U.S., call the RAINN National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 to connect with a trained staff member from a sexual assault service provider in your area. 

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