“Buy U A Drank” was one of T-Pain’s biggest hits. But, according to the artist, the song hasn’t paid off like many might imagine it has done.
T-Pain, the onetime, top-charting Auto-Tune singer turned full-time gaming streamer, no longer profits from his massive hit. However, people like Lil Scrappy, Lil Jon, E-40, and Sean Paul, and DJ Unk probably do.
“Have ya’ll looked up the publishing for ‘Buy U A Drank?’” the singer asked in a clip shared last week by his Twitch channel, Nappy Boy Gaming. “Like, publishing-wise, I probably get no money from ‘Buy U A Drank.’”
Just A Sip
T-Pain disclosed that he had to relinquish some of his publishing rights to clear the samples, which include lines from “Money in the Bank” by Lil Scrappy, “Snap Your Fingers, Do Your Step” by Lil Jon, E-40, and Sean Paul, as well as “Walk It Out” by DJ Unk.
Furthermore, the song also pays tribute to lines made famous by TI, 50 Cent, and Lil Boosie.
“So all those things I said in ‘Buy U a Drank’ that were from other songs, all those people and writers from the other songs said they were owed s–t from my song,” he added.
The ownership of the rights for “Buy U A Drank” depends on the agreements for the sampled songs. If one entity owns all those rights, T-Pain — also known as “Tallahassee Pain,” Faheem Rasheed Najm, whose net worth is around $10 million — might not have much ownership. If it’s split among many, it gets more complicated.
It is unclear without knowing the agreements.
The song “Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin’)” by T-Pain, featuring Yung Joc, was a huge commercial success upon its May 26, 2007, release. The song also garnered support from Kanye West, who joined the remix on July 16, 2007.
The original song reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States and held its position for several weeks. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the song as multi-platinum due to its widespread radio airplay and recognition, making it one of T-Pain’s most iconic and successful songs.
The summer song served as a club anthem and inspired a 2021 remake featuring singer Kehlani, offering a “female perspective,” which also achieved significant success, New York Magazine’s Vulture reported.
T-Pain had announced his new album, “On Top of the Covers,” which includes reinterpretations of songs by legendary artists like Sam Cooke and Frank Sinatra.
“These songs are not what you’d expect when you hear that T-Pain is doing a covers album and that is what I think is cool about it,” he said in an interview with Rolling Stone.
