T-Pain teams up with Lipton
Tallahassee native T-Pain has teamed up with Lipton Iced Tea to present a series of commercials with heavy ‘90s sitcom influences — laugh tracks included. Bonus: There’s also a contest in which one entrant will win a cookout with the rapper, among other prizes.
“Have Some Tea with Cousin T” follows T-Pain, aka Cousin T, as he drops in on his family with iced tea in tote and shows off his different “personali-teas.” Southern Sweet Tea for when he’s feeling helpful, Georgia Peach Tea when it’s time to party and Green Tea when focus is required.
“I would say it’s like a Lipton Iced Tea ‘Family Matters.’ … I come in, I bring the joy and excitement, much like Lipton does to family functions,” said T-Pain, whose moniker is short for Tallahassee Pain. “In the South, that’s what we do. We get together. We have iced tea.”
T-Pain’s “personali-teas” come to life in the “Have Some Tea with Cousin T” series.
There will be four main a year in which COVID-19 anything his mother commercials, with different kept many loved ones apart. sipped. Most of the time, it versions of each one. This message resonates was Lipton Iced Tea.
“You’re gonna have to with T-Pain, who united “I’ve been drinking follow it like the Marvel with his mom and other Lipton for a long time, and Universe,” quipped T-Pain, family members on July 4. I have enjoyed it for most whose real name Faheem “Coming back with of my childhood, so to have Rasheed Najm. His favorite family again after the crazy this come back around full flavor, Southern Sweet Tea, pandemic we had and circle and being part of my features prominently in one not being able to see our career as an adult is kind of episode where he chugs an folks, Lipton always brings crazy,” he said. entire bottle. the fun,” he said. “The With the Lipton series
“I had to drink the whole culture is a big part of it. comes a sweepstake and thing in one sitting, staring It represents the South. I $30,000 in donations. into another man’s eyes,” he represent the South, so it’s Southern U.S. residents said. “I think that was the kind of synonymous.” can enter a contest funniest thing of all time.” Drinking Lipton Iced Tea in which one winner will
Overall, the series has always been a family receive a barbecue experience encourages people to enjoy affair for T-Pain. As a child, with T-Pain catered family time, especially after he insisted on sampling by a local, Black-owned restaurant, a custom grill with accessories and a year’s supply of Lipton Iced Tea. For more information and to enter, text “#GRILLWITHT” to 99888 or go to grillwitht.com — where visitors can also find T-Pain’s Spotify summer playlist.
Lipton and T-Pain will also award $5,000 grants to six local restaurants for restoration and support after hardships resulting from the coronavirus pandemic last year.
In addition to the Lipton campaign, T-Pain has several other projects in the works involving Kehlani, Internet Money, Trap Money Benny and Corsair Gaming, as well as his new album, “Precious Stones,” set to release in September.
Florida, he said, has largely influenced his career — particularly the style of music that has emerged from the Sunshine State.
“Everybody that comes out of Florida is still influencing music in a big way,” T-Pain said, referencing Miami natives Uncle Luke and Lil Pump; Fort Lauderdale native Ski Mask the Slump God; Pompano Beach native Kodak Black; and Rick Ross, who was raised in Carol City.
T-Pain credits Florida artists with pioneering “booty music” and challenging future musicians.
“Any new artists or any anybody that comes out of Florida has to do something so special that it not only has to trump booty music, but it has to be something so unrecognizable that it becomes a new genre,” he said. “Florida has influenced the [music] industry incredibly. … It’s always gonna be a different style of music that comes out of Florida.”
While his schedule remains busy, it’s filled with meaningful work.
“Back in the day, I would just pile stuff onto myself and not care how much sleep I got,” he said. “But now I actually want to do these things and … it’s not my job anymore, it’s my passion, so I try to keep that in mind to make sure this doesn’t turn into a job, and I’m not doing this for money.”