T-Pain relishes in new success following ‘Masked Singer’ win

NEW YORK >> T-Pain is not a fan of early mornings, but it’s the price you pay when traveling the country to highlight entrepreneurs and startup companies.

“It’s a lot of non-rapper hours,” the two-time Grammy winner said with a laugh.

The singer-rapper, who are born Faheem Rasheed Najm, is the host of “T-Pain’s School of Business,” a FUSE show that explores niche, innovative businesses founded by millennials. Many are centered on new technology and forward-thinking concepts.

“It’s great to back these business and get out here and meet the actual entrepreneurs,” he said. “A lot of people that we interview on the show are basically trying to save the environment, coming up with different ways that they can keep the Earth itself sustainable.”

The “rappa-ternt-sanga” (rapper-turned-singer), as he’s labeled himself, said jumping into the business world was a natural fit; his mornings — or afternoons, depending on when he wakes up — consist of browsing crowdsourcing apps and helping fund businesses and ideas that catch his eye.

Pain’s career is one that can be envied for its longevity, as many of the artists that he sparred with atop the music charts in the 2000s have faded into obscurity. He has consistently put out music, and he has kept his star bright by keeping his face on television. He won the inaugural “The Masked Singer” competition in February, followed by hosting the iHeart Music Awards in March. However, he doesn’t label it as a comeback.

“I wouldn’t call it resurgence. It’s something I was already doing. I always meet TV producers and I always have meetings at networks and stuff like that and they’re like, ‘Man, you got a personality on you,’” he said. “I’m pretty relatable when it comes to learning about these things because I’m learning with my audience, and if I’m good enough to help people learn and help people start their own business, I’ll take it.”

But while he may not call it a revival, he’s much more visible in pop culture than he has been in years. Despite touring and guest appearances, including a high-profile feature on “Finish Line” from Chance The Rapper’s 2016 Grammy-winning “Coloring Book” album, Pain hadn’t had a solo song that charted Billboard since 2013. But that changed this year: He dropped a new project in March, “1UP,” and his track “Girlfriend” featuring G-Easy peaked at #37.

His music still serves as the sun in which all of his other interests orbit around. But to some hiphop fans, it’s a wonder his music still resonates: A decade ago, many predicted his career all but dead after Jay-Z released “D.O.A. Death of Auto-Tune” in 2009, a track urging the hip-hop world to stop using the effect after believing it had become oversaturated in pop culture.