T-Pain Is Causing Some Real Pain in a Confusing TikTok That Suggests He Might Be Quitting

With so much real pain in the world, it seems cruel and punishing to lose T-Pain. This is the rapper who wrote the ultimate love letter to the service industry in his hit song "Bartender." He solidified his place in reality competition history by becoming the first person to win The Masked Singer in 2019. We also got to revel in his comedic timing when T-Pain lent his talents to The Lonely Island for their Grammy-nominated song "I'm on a Boat."

Although Florida gets a bad rap, the Sunshine State got it right when it welcomed T-Pain into the world in September 1984. In case you missed it, the T in T-Pain stands for Tallahassee, and the pain describes what he felt growing up on the rougher side of the tracks. According to The Situation, at the age of 10, the burgeoning musician turned his own bedroom into a recording studio. More than three decades later, T-Pain might be pulling the plug. What happened? Here's what we know.

In an equal parts dramatic and wildly confusing TikTok, T-Pain announced he's taking a break, we think. The video is only 43 seconds in length and begins with T-Pain walking through a well-lit mansion, sporting a white tuxedo. That's a bold move and feels a bit like Tom Hanks in Big.

The camera cuts to the rapper's Best Rap Song Grammy that he got in 2007 for "Good Life." A title card reads, "Been at this for 20 years," then cuts to his $400,000 "Big A-- Chain" diamond-encrusted necklace. As T-Pain arrives at a bay window, back still turned towards the camera, another title card says he is talking something over with his family and team.

This is where things get funny, and we are tempted to question the validity of this TikTok because the next footage is of T-Pain accepting his trophy on The Masked Singer. So if this is truly a tour of T-Pain's accomplishments, why focus on just these three things? We're not suggesting he shouldn't celebrate The Masked Singer, but it's such a hilarious juxtaposition.

The final two title cards reveal that T-Pain has a big decision to make, but this "might be it." The caption reads, "I gave you all everything for 20 years. I'm grateful to each of you for making this such a great ride. Right now, I just need some time to think about what's next and what's best for me." What's left to do for the man who has done film, television, an SNL sketch, and every facet of music?

We found the one thing T-Pain might be bad at, and that's building anticipation. The day after he posted his cryptic TikTok, T-Pain posted another announcing a tour. "If I learned one thing in the last 20 years, it’s that music doesn’t live on charts," he wrote in the caption. "It lives in people. And this isn’t a tour, it’s a thank you to everyone that was there in 2005 and to everyone who’s just catching the wave." Almost every person in the comments breathed a digital sigh of relief.

The accompanying video is a little over five minutes in length and features old footage of T-Pain as he describes moments that felt chaotic at the time, but now feel like masterpieces. Two decades ago, he was just a kid from Tallahassee with a "head full of harmonies and a heart that refused to shut up." All he had was his belief in himself. This tour is for his fans, and we are ready.