T-Pain Ditches Auto-Tune in ‘Say the Word (I’m Gone)’ Video

Last year, T-Pain wowed critics and fans alike when he performed three songs without Autotune on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert program. The R&B singer forgoes the audio software again on his new tune, 'Say the Word (I'm Gone).'

There's also a video for the single, which shows the Florida native performing it in the studio booth. The rappa-turnt-sanga does an impressive job holding a four-part harmony. Lyrically, the 29-year-old crooner seems reflective and asks a bunch of deep questions.

"Why do we do this, why do we chase after dreams so stupid, so useless? / Why am I foolish? / Why am I made out to be translucent? / You can't see through this, no way," he sings.

It's not clear whether Pain is singing about a woman or his career when he says, "Say the word and I'm gone," but either way there's a real sincerity to his lyrics and the harmonies make the song easy to listen to.

There's no word if this touching ballad will appear on his new album, 'Stoicville: The Phoenix.' In the meantime, T-Pain continues to roll out strong material and is truly growing as a singer-songwriter.