T-Pain, real name Faheem Rashad Najm, has announced plans to build a new school in Wisconsin, following the success of his 2008 track “Can’t Believe It,” which rhymed “mansion” with “Wisconsin.”
In an interview with Billboard, the 39-year-old disclosed plans to establish an educational center in the area. He had previously made a similar promise to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2023.
“I just really felt like I was Andre 3000 when I was recording that song,” he said about “Can’t Believe It”. “That was my spirit animal that I had on me while I was recording that song.”
He continued: “Again, that fostered the era of the ‘mansion in Wiscansin’ infamous rhyme. And since then, we’ve been really able to incorporate that into everything. […] All my tours that I go on now are Wisconsin based. We have a ‘Wiscansin University.’ All the merch is ‘Wiscansin’ based. We’re actually starting a school in Wisconsin. It’s a music school.”
HipHopDX reported that Wisconsin reciprocated T-Pain’s love. In 2022, during his Road To Wisconsin Tour, the rapper gained official acknowledgment from the Badger State, as reported by the media.
Instead of a solo performance, T-Pain headlined the Wiscansin Fest, which featured Lil Jon, Juvenile, Yung Bleu, K Camp, O.T. Genasis, and others.
During the rapper’s performance, State Representative Kalan Haywood announced that June 11 will be commemorated as “T-Pain Day”. According to social media videos, the singer cried as he collected the plaque and expressed gratitude to the audience for their love and support.
The Wiscansin Fest’s official Instagram page thanked the rapper-turned-singer and shared a photo of him holding the proclamation during the show.
The caption read, “The Mayor of Milwaukee, @cavalierformilwaukee has proclaimed June 11th as ‘T-Pain Day’ to be celebrated annually throughout the state. State rep @kalanhaywoodwi surprised @tpain on stage at #WiscansinFest to present him with a proclamation from the state office. The proclamation recognizes ‘Wiscansin Fest’ as an annual event acknowledged by the state of Wisconsin. Thank you @cityofmilwaukee and the entire state of Wisconsin for this incredible honor.”