Tallahassee has never seen a homecoming like this. T-Pain is set to ignite the stage in his Florida hometown on March 31 with a few famous friends including Chris Brown, DJ Khaled, and Ace Hood for “Come to the Crib 2,” his second benefit concert to raise money for his foundation, If I Could Change the World. The organization encourages people to post ideas about how they would help someone in need. Pain, in turn, tries to make some of these dreams come true. Rap-Up.com spoke with the charitable superstar about giving back to his community, Chris Brown’s wholehearted support, and the surprises in store.

What inspired you to start your organization?
I didn’t like the idea of charities at the time because it just seemed like everybody was trying to brag about helping somebody. It didn’t seem real. It seemed like these super rich people didn’t think about helping Haiti until something really bad happened. Haiti’s been fucked up, you know? People need help all the time, not just when there’s a super disaster out there. I was thinking that there have to be other people who want to help others too, but don’t have the money like I do to do these things. So we have people write in and say how they would change the world and who they would help.

What type of help did you get when you were in need?
It was more of a general love in my city. Everyone knew I had potential. I would just sit outside of a McDonald’s at the time; they had those triple cheeseburgers poppin’ and everybody was like, “Dawg, you good?” And I’d be like, “I’d love a cheeseburger right now.” It was just stuff like that. I got the love that way. I owe a lot of people a lot of things and this is how I give back.

There are big names supporting you at the concert. Any surprise guests planned?
There may be. I’m working on those. There are some people that want private jets to get there, so…

Out of everyone that you invited to perform, who was the most willing and enthusiastic?
Chris [Brown]. I was like, “Hey, I’m doing this charity thing,” and he was like, “Yeah, I’m coming.” I didn’t even have to tell him when it was. He was like, “If I have something to do that day, it’s getting canceled.” I did the same thing for him when he dropped his charity.

Will you be performing with him?
Of course. I’ll be performing with everyone. I’m going to be on stage the entire time. I’m going to stay hydrated, water and Gatorade.

How do the proceeds work?
All the tickets are going to the charity. All the artists are doing it for free. All I gotta do it get ‘em a flight.

Which song do you think is going to get the biggest response?
“Welcome to My Hood.” Tallahassee loves that song. The place is going to erupt.

Tickets for T-Pain’s “Come to the Crib 2” benefit concert are on sale now.

–Rajul Punjabi

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