People are only just learning what T-Pain's rap name actually stands for

He is a well-known name in the music industry - but many T-Pain fans are only just learning how the got his iconic stage name.

Faheem Rashad Najm, known professionally as , started his recording career as part of the hip hop group Nappy Headz - and went on to release his debut solo mixtape, Back @ It, in 2004.

After signing with Akon, he went onto release his debut single I'm Sprung in 2005 - and enjoyed commercial success at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. Recognised 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 almost two decades, some fans still have no idea how the artist got his iconic rap name, with one Reddit user asking: "Is the rapper T-:ain'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".

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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."

He got his first taste of the music business at three-years-old when friend of the family, gospel jazz artist Ben Tankard, showed him his recording studio. From there, at aged 10, he turned his bedroom into a music studio complete with a keyboard, a beat machine and a four-track recorder.

Commenting on his stage name, one Reddit user said: "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 added: "No. 'T' stands for Tallahassee, where he was born, and 'Pain' is for all the pain he had to go through to become successful."