Criticism around the use of Auto-Tune in music felt like an “attack” to the R&B vocalist.
By Jaelani Turner-Williams
June 24, 2026
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – JUNE 09: T-Pain performs before Game Four of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights at Toshiba Plaza T-Mobile Arena on June 09, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JUNE 14: Jay-Z is seen before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E match between Cote D’Ivoire and Ecuador at Philadelphia Stadium on June 14, 2026 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images/Ezra Shaw – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
T-Pain took it personally when Jay-Z went after artists who use Auto-Tune on his 2009 single, “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune).”
The song, which appeared on Jay-Z’s 2009 album, The Blueprint 3, came up on the Tuesday (June 23) episode of podcast ExpediTIously with Tip “T.I.” Harris.
Around the eight-minute mark of the video below, T-Pain joked that Hov’s criticism about the use of Auto-Tune felt “sucked.”
“I’m a Jay-Z fan still to this day,” the R&B vocalist continued. “One of my favorite songs from him was ‘Can’t Knock the Hustle.’ And getting my hustle knocked wasn’t on my bingo card.”
T-Pain added that hearing the song was “devastating,” although he’s grown to understand the song’s message.
“That was another way of [saying] ‘Hey, man, y’all let me do what I’m doing. I’m still over here,’” he said. “It wasn’t a call to kill T-Pain. It was like ‘Hey, guys. I’m still me now. I’m still Jay-Z. Y’all don’t get too caught up with that shit over there. Ain’t going to last too long.’”
The two-time Grammy winner added that while he “felt slighted at the time,” he grew to accept the song through a lens of “maturity.”
“It just came down to me not understanding how to process somebody else’s feelings and looking at things from the other side and trying to see all sides of a situation before I was able to react,” T-Pain explained.
T-Pain unexpectedly joined Hov onstage while the 25-time Grammy winner performed “D.O.A.” at Hot 97 Summer Jam in 2009.
“You n*as singin’ too much/Get back to rap, you T-Painin’ too much,” Jay-Z rapped on the No ID-produced single.
In a 2009 interview on Hot 97, Jay-Z denied that the song was intended to target T-Pain and named other artists who used the vocal technology.
“The guys who did it, did it great. T-Pain, he does great melodies,” the rapper explained. “If you listen to Kanye, great melodies. If you listen to [West’s] ‘Say You Will’ or ‘Heartless,’ great melodies. [Lil Wayne’s] ‘Lollipop’ was a fantastic melody. Everybody can’t do it. Let them guys do it. They got their little niche, let’s move on. That’s just my opinion. I don’t know if everybody feels the same way.”
