T-Pain criticised for using Kirk Franklin’s lyrics (23.09.08)

US Rapper T-Pain has recently caused controversy with one of his
track by using lyrics from a popular gospel song and turning it into booze anthem.

T-Pain’s unreleased "Silver and Gold", which was leaked to the Internet a few months ago, made references to Kirk Franklin’s 1993 hit “Silver and Gold”. In the song, the Florida-native talks about mixing different types of Tequila to get high before going to a party. Lyrics include: "You'll be hanging, swanging/ I done mixed up silver and gold/ I'mma tryin' to get drunk before this party/ I done drank the silver and gold”. Franklin’s lyrics, on the other hand, make reference to Jesus: “Silver and gold/ Silver and gold/ I'd rather have Jesus than silver and gold”.

After news of the song broke out, Kirk called the rapper to discuss the situation. Talking to the MTV news office, Pain said: "It was never supposed to be on my album. The record, it got leaked, then me and Kirk Franklin had to talk. He was doing most of the talking. He was saying it wasn't no disrespect. He was saying he knows how songs get leaked. He had it happen to him before. He said if I was gonna go with it, just change the melody. 'You can still say silver and gold.'

“He's got a lot of people saying stuff to him: 'How could you let T-Pain destroy a gospel song like that? How could you let him talk about alcohol?' I wasn't even doing it for a mixtape or nothing. I was literally drinking and made a song. I was bored in the studio. There was nothing else to do. I made it into an alcoholic anthem, which wasn't good."

The release date for T-Pain’s new album ’Pain or Pleasure’ has been pushed back to October, due to the reports.

Source: MTV
Edited by Charlene Marshall