T-Pain paid tribute to the late Oliver Tree in a powerful way over the weekend.
The rapper surprised fans at Electric Forest over the weekend by debuting an unreleased collaboration they recorded together before Tree’s death earlier this month, according to TMZ. The emotional moment unfolded during T-Pain’s back-to-back set with Shaquille O’Neal a.k.a. DJ Diesel, at the Michigan festival.
Fan-recorded footage captured a preview of the track, which begins as a slow, reflective song with Tree singing about chasing dreams before building into a high-energy dance anthem. As the music played, a montage of Tree appeared on the giant screen behind the performers, turning the debut into a heartfelt tribute.
Tree died on June 14 at age 32 after a helicopter collision over Recreio dos Bandeirantes, a neighbourhood in southwest Rio de Janeiro. Six people were killed in the crash, and authorities are still investigating what caused the accident.
T-Pain, born Faheem Rashad Najm, honoured his friend on social media the day he died by sharing a video from a 2023 meeting.
“Never will forget this lesson from Oliver or the time we had on [Nappy Boy Radio podcast]. Thanks for sharing your art and for always being different in the best way possible. See you on the brighter side,” he wrote.
In the clip, the pair hug before Tree jokes, “Isn’t it crazy that we’re both DJs now? We’re done with the singing thing!”
