T-Pain Claims That He Was “Drake Before Drake” Because Of His “Simp” Anthems

Drake might not have been the first rapper to not be afraid to show his “softer” side on a track. Songs like LL Cool J’s “I Need Love,” and albums like Kanye’s 808s & Heartbreak set Drake up to help him become the artist he is today.

In a recent interview with DJ Akademiks, T-Pain took a little bit of credit for Drake’s career, saying that he was “Drake before Drake” because of his “simp” anthems.

T-Pain first spoke on how he was looked at as “corny” for wanting to sing about love in an era where the “gangsta” persona was more popular.

“I’ve been a real corny n*gga and I love that sh*t because that means I’m not doing the same sh*t as everybody else,” he said. “I’m not camping out in front of these f*cking stores for the same shoes as you n*ggas. I’m not doing this dumb sh*t that’s gonna make me cool to all you n*ggas that’s tryna be the same as each other. I don’t want to do that shit. I’ve been corny from the beginning of my life.”

He went on to say how his hit song “I’m Spring” is about him falling for a woman, before saying that he’s “always been that corny n*gga” and calling himself “Drake before Drake.”

“‘I’m Sprung’ is about falling for a b*tch, being that corny n*gga falling for a b*tch,” he said. “I’ve always been that corny n*gga. I’ve always been the simp n*gga. I was Drake before Drake, n*gga! I was in love before n*ggas was really cool with being in love with b*tches.”

You can watch the nearly hour-long interview below. The conversation starts around the 6:40 mark.