T-Pain has dug deep into the archives and pulled out some truly important cultural footage — the day he rhymed “mansion” with “Wiscansin.”
In 2008, the Tallahassee native put out one of his biggest hits, “Can’t Believe It” featuring Lil Wayne. The song came with a line that would take on a life of its own, inspiring memes and merch as well as an annual music festival.
Taken from the King of autotune’s third studio album, Thr33 Rings, the song hears him sing: “Put you in a mansion/Somewhere in Wiscansin.”
Needing to come up with a place that rhymed with “mansion,” he chose the state of “Wisconsin” — but pronounced it “Wiscansin.” He said it felt like he was “taking a risk” by doing so.
“I could have done a lot of different things,” T-Pain told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But man, ‘Wiscansin’ just felt right. It felt better. It felt like I was taking a risk. Not a lot of people give Wisconsin a lot of love, so I felt like I was breathing air into something.”
Speaking to Genius in 2022, he insisted that Wisconsinites call the state “Wiscansin” “all the time.”
In new footage shared by T-Pain on X, fans can watch the moment he first came up with the line. In the clip, while laying the track down, he pauses to ask about the state’s pronunciation.
“That’s how they say it, ain’t it? Wiscansin?” he can be seen asking someone outside the booth. “Do they say Wiscansin? I think Wisconsin people say Wiscansin. Shit, here we go. Fuck it, I’m about to.”
Wiscansin Fest, the Milwaukee festival inspired by the line, is set to take place at the Rave on June 14, 2025. Dubbed “Back to Wiscansin Fest,” the fourth annual edition will see T-Pain take top billing once again, while other performers include Keyshia Cole, Pusha T, Wale, Feid and Jermaine Dupri.
However, Pain’s Wiscansin State Fear car-drifting event, which was scheduled to take place as part of the Wisconsin State Fair at Milwaukee Mile in West Allis a day earlier on June 13, has now been moved after officials pushed back on the plans.
Put on by T-Pain’s Nappy Boy Automotive, one of the fair’s alleged concerns include that the event would attract gangs, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
The “Buy U a Drank” hitmaker aired his grievances in a pair of videos posted on his social media pages earlier this month. In the videos, he said Wiscansin State Fear would no longer be happening at State Fair Park, and instead will take place at Road America in Plymouth, with additional details to come.
