T-Pain opens discussion on low-selling show cancellations: “Most artists lie”

T-Pain was the soundtrack to the mid-2000s for many with hits such as “I’m ’n Luv (Wit a Stripper)” and “Buy U A Drank (Shawty Snappin’).” Emerging in a time where autotune was also on the rise, the rapper shocked the world in 2014 when he revealed he doesn’t actually need it during a stripped-down Tiny Desk performance on NPR (later going on to use his pipes to win The Masked Singer season 1).

Well, T-Pain is shocking fans yet again as the musician got real on Instagram about some canceled shows in turn opening a larger conversation about the music industry.

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Following the first run in March, T-Pain has been gearing up to hit the road for the second leg of his 1UP tour in support of his album of the same name. Announced in mid-September, the upcoming shows were set to kick off Nov. 1.

However, the rapper took to Instagram to let fans know that it would no longer be happening. He began the video by explaining his team booked the run in September, which he admits is “not enough time to set up a full tour.”

T-Pain explains “corners got cut” and production went missing, further stating he wasn’t as hands-on with the planning as he typically is due to his busy schedule. He says he felt that his sold-out first run was a good indication that this would do the same, but the rapper reveals that wasn’t the case.

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“I’m going to take it upon myself to cancel the 1UP DLC tour because it would’ve just been a bad look for me, and it wouldn’t have been entertaining for ya’ll. I’d rather just leave it for a later time.”

T-Pain continues by stating he was told by his team to lie about the reason the tour was getting canceled, but he wanted to take full responsibility and be truthful with his fans.

“I was advised to lie about this and say that I needed some time or I needed some alone time or me time—some shit like that. Or I needed time to spend with my family, or some medical attention. ‘Don’t make it look like we fucked up.’ We fucked up. We fucked up. I’m gonna keep it real with y’all man. Most artists lie. Whenever concerts get canceled or tours get canceled, it’s for low ticket sales. It’s not really about whatever-the-fuck reason they say.

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“I think that’s wrong, that’s fucked up. Ya’ll out there spending your hard-earned money on these fucking tickets. Ya’ll take time to fucking prepare for this shit [so] I just want to take it upon myself to say this is my decision to do this, and I should’ve been more hands-on with the planning of it.”

Check out the full video from T-Pain below.

Fans reacted with support for the rapper, but many stated they didn’t know he even had a tour coming up.

https://twitter.com/SenseiJimmie/status/1186993520118247425

https://twitter.com/HaitianKing954/status/1187063326301474818

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Following media and fan reaction, T-Pain followed up in his initial statement on Twitter.

“Sure would’ve loved all this media coverage when I announced the tour. The media loves life’s lows. FREE PROMO FOR THE BAD SHIT!! EXTRA EXTRA READ ALL ABOUT THE NEGATIVE PARTS!!!!!!!”

“All good tho. I really really really really really appreciate the love you guys give me and have for me. After 15 years I know how these things go. I love y’all fr. I’ll be buyin those dranks soon enough. LOOK OUT FOR NEW TOUR DATES!!!!!”

What do you think about T-Pain’s honest post and broader statement about the music industry? Sound off in the comments below.

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