T-Pain is no stranger to making hit songs, and the Autotune pioneer has been known for his share of fire verses as well. Today, Pitchfork linked up with T-Pain to break down Dre's verses on the classic 2001 single "Forgot About Dre." Like many of us, T-Pain holds the track in high regard, adding his voice to the legions of fans who have the entire song memorized. Not only is he down with the track, but he also has some thoughts that go beyond the surface level. "This was a change of pace for everybody," reflects Pain. "The fans, Dre, Em...What a pivotal moment."
T-Pain feels pretty confident that Eminem came up with the track's concept. "Eminem was so big, and he's like do ya'll not remember Dr. Dre?" On that note, T-Pain seems incredulous at the idea that anybody could ever dare forget about Dre. "This man had a hook of a hit song that went 'ring-ding dong, ring, di-ding, ding ding dong," laughs T-Pain, in utter awe.
He also makes an interesting comparison between Dr. Dre and Drake, vis-à-vis ghostwriting. "We got the era now where people talk about Drake having ghost writers," says Pain. "Dre didn't have ghost writers. Dre will let you know [he] didn't write that song. You know for a fact [he] didn't write that song. Dre will tell you I can't rap, but I delivered it and it happened. You would know that Dre didn't write the songs, and you just would not care."
Check out the video in full below. It's worth it - not only to hear T-Pain's hilarious and insightful commentary, but because "Forgot About Dre" deserves to be remembered.
