T-Pain says being famous at such a young age 'wasn't fun at all' and was 'rough on his mental state'

• T-Pain opened up to Insider about the struggles he encountered after finding fame at a young age.
• The singer rose to fame aged 21 in 2005 following the release of his debut album, "Rappa Ternt Sanga."

T-Pain has opened up on the struggles he encountered after finding fame at a young age.

The now 38-year-old singer rose to notoriety at age 21 in 2005 following the release of his debut album, "Rappa Ternt Sanga," which featured the hit singles "I'm Sprung" and "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)."

He subsequently spent several years as a regular on the charts, thanks to his own music and his frequent collaborations with other artists.

Between 2007 and 2008, T-Pain had no less than 13 top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, including three that reached No. 1: "Kiss Kiss" with Chris Brown, "Low" with Flo Rida, and "Buy U a Drank (Shawty Snappin')."

Reflecting on that period, T-Pain told Insider that being so successful wasn't as great as he had imagined.

"It was rough on me, really rough on my mental state," he said in an interview to promote his latest collaboration with Lipton Iced Tea. "The touring, man, that wore me out. It was tough, but, you know, we got through it and here we are."

Pain said he "just didn't expect" being at the top to be "that much work."

"It was always portrayed that when you're on top of the world, you don't have to do fucking anything, you just sit back and let everybody do stuff for you. You're the king and you're just sitting on your throne and you're good," he said.

"But no, it's way more work," he added. "It's more work than not being at the top of it because the thing about being number one is you have to stay number one and that's when it gets tough. I just wasn't ready for it."

Asked if things would have been different for him if he'd found fame when he was a little older, Pain replied: "Oh, 100%. Absolutely."

"I would've been mentally prepared," he said. "I would've had a little more experience in life. It wasn't fun at all. It was tough, man.

"At 22, I'm telling you, I didn't know shit."

T-Pain's early struggles have by no means stopped him from continuing to make music, however.

Earlier this year, he released his seventh studio album, "On Top of the Covers," an eclectic eight-track covers album on which he performed renditions of hits by Sam Cooke, Journey, and Black Sabbath, among others.

Most recently, he has partnered with Lipton Iced Tea for a refreshing spin on the 1999 classic, "Steal My Sunshine," by Len to help launch the brand's new Pops of Sunshine frozen ice pop range. Flavors include green tea citrus and peach iced tea.

The "Bartender" singer told Insider that he plans to make more covers albums — ideally, one a year, if possible.

"Getting to venture off into different genres and express my love for different genres, it was liberating, so I'm trying to do it annually now because it was just so fun to do," he said.

Pain also said that he one day wants to do an album with a live orchestra behind him.

"It's gonna be some Hans Zimmer-type shit," he said.