Akon isn’t too humble about his influence on the current popular autotune trend of T-Pain and Kanye West. Speaking to MTV he said:

“If anything, I embrace the fact that they’re doing it. Music changes every year. I’m just happy [about] the fact that people are jumping on what we’re already doing. I look at it like a tribute to what we’re already doing, and I look at it like a compliment, really…I say ‘you’re welcome’ every time I hear [rappers singing].”

He also spoke briefly about the release of his upcoming collaborations with Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, saying the Houston song will “shock a lot of people.”

For more of the interview, go here.