Photo by Thaddaeus McAdams /FilmMagic

The use of auto-tune’s innovative capabilities has always been alive and well in pop music but the digital processor’s revolutionary surge in hip-hop arenas can easily be traced to none of other than T-Pain. After the debut of his hit single “I’m Sprung” climbed the charts in 2005, the voice-alteration technology would be rightfully dubbed “The T Pain Effect” and birthed a generation of rappers who incorporated the voice effects into their catalog. T-Pain is now revealing how steering the hip hop zeitgeist of the early aughts led him into a spiraling four-year depression.

In a clip from the upcoming Netflix series This Is Pop, published by Entertainment Weekly, the 35-year-old spoke about how criticism from veterans like Usher left him demoralized as the industry sought a scapegoat for the popularized use of auto-tune. “Usher was my friend. I really respect Usher,” he recalled in the exclusive clip. “And he was like, ‘Man. I’m gonna tell you something, man. You kinda (expletive) up music.'” In the moment, The Masked Singer season 1 winner presumed Usher, someone who he looked up to, was joking.  He continued, “I didn’t understand. I thought he was joking at first, but then he was like, ‘Yeah man you really f*cked up music for real singers.'” Jay Z, although he has given credit to artistry of T-Pain and Kanye West, has also criticized the musical trend as a technological crutch that demeaned the craftsmanship of the industry. In 2009, he composed his barbs at the modulation into the first single off his eleventh album, The Blueprint 3, titled “D.O.A (Death of Autotune).”

In response to Usher’s remarks, T-Pain said, “‘But I used it, I didn’t tell everybody else to start using it.” Reflecting on the disheartening experience, he added: “I don’t even think I realized this for a long time, but that’s the very moment that started a four-year depression for me.” He also took the Twitter to clarify his stance in the clip writing, “I still love and respect @Usher telling that story was in no way meant to disrespect that man. People talk sh*t about me 24/7 but when it comes from someone you truly respect it hits very different.”