Why T-Pain rhymed 'Wiscansin' with 'mansion.' And, how that's taken on a life of its own.

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“This is my second home."

That's what T-Pain proclaimed last summer at the end of his opening set for Pitbull at Milwaukee's American Family Insurance Amphitheater. This was the second time the Grammy Award-winning singer and rapper had performed in the Dairy State in the matter of months.

The Tallahassee native's quirky kinship with Wisconsin stems back to a rhyme he dropped in one of his biggest hits from more than a decade and a half ago.

It has since taken on a life of its own, from inspiring merch to an annual music festival.

Here's what to know about T-Pain and his iconic Wisconsin, err "Wiscansin," line:

Who is T-Pain?

Over T-Pain's two-decades-long career — trademarked by his influential use of Autotune — the singer/rapper has earned a double-platinum-certified album, two gold albums, 16 Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and a dozen Grammy nominations with two wins, according to a previous Journal Sentinel report.

His hits have included "I'm Sprung," — his debut single — "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)" featuring Mike Jones, "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')" featuring Yung Joc, "Bartender" featuring Akon, "Can’t Believe It" featuring Lil Wayne — more on this one in a minute — "Up Down (Do This All Day)" featuring B.o.B, "Booty Wurk (One Cheek at a Time)" featuring Joey Galaxy, and "Best Love Song" featuring Chris Brown, among others.

He's also collaborated on major tracks, including "I'm on a Boat" by The Lonely Island, "Blame It" by Jamie Foxx, "Low" by Flo Rida, "All I Do Is Win" by DJ Khaled, "Kiss Kiss" by Chris Brown, "Good Life" by Ye (Kanye West), "Got Money" by Lil Wayne — who also has a Wisconsin connection — and more.

In 2019, T-Pain was the inaugural winner of Fox's "The Masked Singer" as the man inside of the "Monster" costume.

The rapper/singer is also a gamer, who streams on Twitch, where he has amassed 1 million followers. To help promote the newest season of "Fortnite," Chapter 6 Season 2, a promo video starring T-Pain was recently released. Apparently, "the rap beef of the century" is brewing between him and ... new character Big Dill. Yes, that's a pickle.

Speaking of rap beefs of the century (looking at you, Kendrick Lamar and Drake) ...

T-Pain recently made headlines for his hot take on Drake and PARTYNEXTDOOR's new album, "$ome $exy $ongs," during a recent stream.

What is T-Pain's famous rhyme that connects him to Wisconsin, err 'Wiscansin'

In T-Pain's 2008 hit "Can't Believe It," he famously rhymed "mansion" with "Wiscansin."

It comes partway through the first verse. The line goes: "Put you in the mansion, somewhere in Wiscansin."

Why T-Pain rhymed 'mansion' with 'Wiscansin'

T-Pain needed to come up with a place that rhymed with "mansion." He chose "Wisconsin" — and pronounced it "Wiscansin."

"I could have done a lot of different things," T-Pain previously told the 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."

In a 2022 Genius Level interview, T-Pain insisted that Wisconsinites call the state "Wiscansin" "all the time."

What 'Wiscansin' has turned into: A music fest, merch — and a future music school?

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of "Can't Believe It," T-Pain launched "Wiscansin University" merch, which he promoted via a hilarious website for the fictitious college.

For the past three years, T-Pain has put on "Wiscansin Fest" at The Rave.

At the first festival, T-Pain was honored with an official proclamation from Mayor Cavalier Johnson, declaring June 11 "T-Pain Day" in the city. 

Last year's lineup included the man of the hour himself, fellow hip-hop veterans, like Akon, Soulja Boy, Waka Flocka Flame and Ying Yang Twins, as well as EDM producer Dillon Francis, local DJ Djay Mando and Yelawolf, among others.

T-Pain has gone on blockbuster tours that have featured the "Wiscansin" name, like "Road to Wiscansin Fest" and "Mansion in Wiscansin Party."

In a 2023 Journal Sentinel interview, T-Pain said he plans to bring Wiscansin University, which would be a music academy, to life in the Milwaukee area.

"This joke has gone off the (expletive) rails," T-Pain said, laughing, at that time. "We can't stop it."

"Wiscansin" was brought to light again recently when T-Pain shared a map of Wisconsin to X. But, instead, it's labeled — you guessed it — "Wiscansin." This comes after President Donald Trump decided to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America on official maps.

Along with the map of "Wiscansin" — which also renames Lake Michigan to "Lake Wiscansin" — T-Pain posted on X: "Omg I can’t believe it, they actually changed the name on the maps."

The tweet has racked up 104,000 likes and 14,000 reposts.

Piet Levy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.