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In a new Netflix series titled This Is Pop, T-Pain opens up about a very difficult time in his life. The famed singer-songwriter says a moment between him and Usher, who he considered a friend, had him depressed for years.

“Usher was my friend,” he said, according to Just Jared. “I really respect Usher and he said, ‘I’m gonna tell you something, man. Man, you kind of f*cked up music.’” Usher was referring to the mainstream use of Auto-Tune after T-Pain used it for his own chart-topping sound. You’ll recall Jay-Z also released his song “D.O.A.” a.k.a “Death of Auto-Tune.”

In the new docuseries, T-Pain reportedly went on to explain that he initially thought Usher was playing around with him, but soon realized the icon was serious.

“And then he was like, ‘Yeah man you really f*cked up music for real singers,’” the “Buy U A Drank” artist added. “I was like, ‘What did I do? I came out and I used Auto-Tune.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, you f*cked it up.’ I’m like, ‘But I used it — I didn’t tell everybody else to start using it.’” He goes on to say that he didn’t “realize it for a long time” but that moment was the beginning of his mental health spiraling. “…That’s the very moment that started a four-year depression for me,” he admitted.

Watch the trailer below. Premiering today on Netflix, the 8-part docuseries tells the stories behind some of pop music’s most memorable acts, including T-Pain, Boys II Men, Backstreet Boys, Shania Twain, Chuck D, and more. Tune in!

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