People left mind-blown after discovering meaning behind T-Pain's famous rap name

He's a big name in the music industry - but many T-Pain fans are just now discovering how the rap artist got his iconic stage name.

Faheem Rashad Najm, known professionally as T-Pain, began his recording career as part of the hip hop group Nappy Headz - and released his debut solo mixtape, Back @ It, in 2004.

After signing with Akon, he released his debut single I'm Sprung in 2005 - and enjoyed commercial success at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. Known for popularising creative use of Auto-Tune, some of his most popular songs include Low, Buy U a Drank, Bartender, I'm Sprung, and Up Down.

Despite listening to his music for nearly two decades, some fans still don't know how the artist got his iconic rap name, with one Reddit user asking: "Is the rapper T-Pain's stage name a reference to Thomas Paine the revolutionary?"

However, it turns out T-Pain stands for Tallahassee Pain - with the moniker representing his "roots and struggles". T-Pain was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, to chef mum Aliyah and dad Shasheem, who founded the Homeboyz to Men program.

In an interview with VH1'S Behind the Music, he explained how he was bullied at school, saying: "I wasn't treated that well in school by the kids. I used to get picked on a whole lot. Fat, chubby, tubby, they would make me try to do pushups.

"Coming from somewhere where nobody liked you, nobody talked to you and now everybody wants to like you and talk to you... I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't let anybody or anything hold me back."

His journey in the music industry began at the tender age of three when Ben Tankard, a family friend and gospel jazz artist, introduced him to his recording studio. By the time he was 10, he had transformed his bedroom into a makeshift music studio, equipped with a keyboard, beat machine, and four-track recorder.

Regarding his stage name, a Reddit user noted: "Today I learned the T in T-Pain's name actually has a meaning. It stands for 'Tallahassee', the city which he was born in, and where he encountered hardships while living there."

Another user chimed in, "No. 'T' stands for Tallahassee, where he was born, and 'Pain' is for all the pain he had to go through to become successful."