Big Sean
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Calling on the same single-minded inspiration that drove greats like the Notorious B.I.G., Kanye West, and Eminem, Detroit rapper Big Sean moved from energetic self-released mixtapes to platinum-selling albums. Signed to Def Jam subsidiary GOOD Music, Sean scored hits from the time of his first studio album, 2011's aptly titled Finally Famous. His commercial success would only grow from there, piling up number one singles and chart-topping records from the time of his debut through to his fifth album, 2020's Detroit 2.
Born Sean Anderson in California but raised in Detroit, rapper Big Sean signed with Kanye West's recently formed GOOD Music label in 2007. Sean had met West through a hip-hop radio station in Detroit; he was just trying to impress the superstar by displaying his freestyle skills, but after Sean's in-studio performance, West offered him a recording contract and helped set up his debut mixtape, Finally Famous, Vol. 1, released in 2007. A second volume arrived in 2009, with a third following in 2010.
In 2011, Sean issued his official debut, Finally Famous, featuring the single "My Last" with special guest Chris Brown. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and later that year, the single "Dance (A$$)," featuring Nicki Minaj, became his first in the pop Top Ten. Hall of Fame followed in 2013, also on GOOD Music, with Lil Wayne, Minaj, Nas, and Miguel on the guest list; it too reached number three on the pop chart. Dark Sky Paradise, released in early 2015, featured a similarly impressive guest list, including repeats in Kanye West, John Legend, and Lil Wayne, plus Drake, Ariana Grande, and E-40. The album also featured the number 11 pop hit "I Don't Fuck with You" (aka "I Don't Mess with You"), debuted at number one, and went platinum.
After Big Sean was featured on a handful of tracks, including fellow Detroiter DeJ Loaf's platinum "Back Up," the Cruel Winter highlight "Champions," and DJ Khaled's "Holy Key," he released the single "Bounce Back," which reached the Billboard rap Top Ten in 2016. That same year, a joint album with singer Jhené Aiko titled TWENTY88 was released and debuted atop the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Sean's fourth full-length, I Decided, was issued in early 2017 and became his second Billboard 200 number one. In the following months, he also appeared on notable singles like the 21 Savage/Metro Boomin track "Pull Up N Wreck," Calvin Harris' "Feels" with Pharrell Williams and Katy Perry, and "Miracles (Someone Special)" with Coldplay. To round out his year, he joined forces with Metro Boomin for the collaborative album Double or Nothing.
It would be two years before Big Sean returned with new music, issuing new singles in the summer of 2019 while working towards a new full-length, tentatively titled Detroit 2. The new album was initially slated for an April 2020 release date, but ended up getting pushed back until September of the same year. In August of 2020, the album's first single, "Deep Reverence," was released. The song featured a cameo from the late Nipsey Hussle and was followed up days later by second single "Harder Than My Demons."
© David Jeffries /TiVo
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released September 4, 2020 | Getting Out Our Dreams, Inc. - Def Jam Recordings
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This new Big Sean album has been in the pipeline for several months but due to COVID-19 it’s release was pushed back to September. The album is a reflection of the growing importance of the Californian in the American rap scene. As its name suggests, Detroit 2 (following his 2012 mixtape, Detroit) is a tribute to the city and its history. Big Sean kindly invites three inspirational artists, namely Erykah Badu, David Chappelle and none other than Stevie Wonder, to declare their love for the Motor City in delightful spoken interludes. These interludes intersperse a tracklist with featuring artists that would make any rapper in the industry green with envy.Big Sean doesn’t have a remarkable voice. It’s through his lyrics, his concepts and his skill of wordplay, used wisely here, that he stands out. This skill is particularly apparent on the awesome tracks Lucky Me and Lithuania (featuring Travis Scott) and is the perfect complement to the cooler sounds of ZFTO and The Baddest (which samples the famous soundtrack from the Godzilla films). The album’s single, Deep Reverence, is a collaboration with the late Nipsey Hussle and shows that Big Sean is more at ease with lyrically optimistic songs, like the superb and sensual Body Language (featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Jhéné Aiko). But that’s a good thing because Detroit 2 is full of them. © Brice Miclet/Qobuz
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released February 24, 2015 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
Artistically, three is the charm for Big Sean as Dark Sky Paradise is much more expansive than previous efforts, sometimes grinding with executive producer Kanye West's love of the dark, and other times bouncing with the snark, swagger, and style that propelled this Detroit rapper to the top. "Paradise" is a prime example of the latter as it busts into the strip club with a Mike-Will-Made-It beat as Sean strings expletives together for an intricate weave, but the man who yearned to be Finally Famous with his debut got it, and is no longer drunk on fame, because as the song explains, the hangover is well underway. Just as infectious and twice as slick, "I Don't Fuck with You" featuring E-40 drops sly lines like "These ho's chase bread, all day/She got a bird brain," while the great "Now I wear v-necks, people ask what happened to the crew?" comes from "Win Some, Lose Some," a key track that links the pop side of the album to the problems side. Problems like the loss of family, as the elegant "One Man Can Change the World" gains strength from the bittersweet swirl of emotions commonly known as the five stages of grief; then there's the ridiculous and winning "Deep," which ruminates and stomps as if Three 6 Mafia were subbing for this week's philosophy class. Mentor Kanye's fingerprints are all over the beginning of the album as "Dark Sky (Skyscrapers)" slowly unfurls like a West-styled album intro, while "Blessings" and "All Your Fault" both sound as if Drake took a swing at Yeezy's 808s and Heartbreak album and then shattered all expectations. There's no filler, and the overall LP flow is near perfect on any non-Deluxe version that doesn't run past the "Outro." Wise, infectious, memorable and, as the song says, "Deep," Dark Sky Paradise suggests that grown-up doesn't necessarily mean beat-up, even after all the brutal punches life can throw.
© David Jeffries /TiVo
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released December 8, 2017 | Republic - MB - Big Sean
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released January 1, 2013 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
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Originally announced as having that "classic feel" with skits and other whatnot, Big Sean's sophomore effort arrives with only one skit, the awfully upfront bit of erotica dubbed "Freaky." It introduces the standout number "MILF," where the Detroit rapper goes Southern strip club with Juicy J and Nicki Minaj acting as the new Ying Yang Twins lineup, and while Hall of Fame offers up plenty of these vibrant, exciting moments, that "classic feel" is nowhere to be found. Choppy overall flow and the feeling those skits and joiners might have helped place it a notch below Sean's knockout debut, but the rapper's growth (his nostalgic reminiscing on the opening "Nothing Is Stopping You" is a masterful mix of effortless and poetic) and his continued embrace of artistic freedom (check "Ashley," where guest Miguel blasts off "I'm just so f**kin' lucky you're my girl" on a polished, otherwise radio-friendly ballad) certainly right the ship. Bouncing between cloud rap and Kanye soul, "Toyota Music" is an easy pick, and when the alt-rock/summer-hop track "You Don't Know" comes on like Drake fronting Florence + the Machine (background vocals courtesy of an uncredited Ellie Goulding), Sean rides the No I.D. production like a champ. Besides these pop moments, true hip-hop thrives on a soul-filling promise to do better with Nas and Kid Cudi called "First Chain," and with the gravelly voice of Jeezy and the 808 kicking the woofers inside-out, "It's Time" checks off the box next to "trunk rumbler," making the superstar hip-hop album inventory complete. Fifteen cuts means this one is fat with an "f" and a bit too cumbersome to convert on first listen, but the sophomore slump this is not, meaning anyone who devoured Sean's debut should re-up with this one.
© David Jeffries /TiVo
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released August 25, 2020 | Getting Out Our Dreams, Inc. - Def Jam Recordings
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released January 1, 2013 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
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Originally announced as having that "classic feel" with skits and other whatnot, Big Sean's sophomore effort arrives with only one skit, the awfully upfront bit of erotica dubbed "Freaky." It introduces the standout number "MILF," where the Detroit rapper goes Southern strip club with Juicy J and Nicki Minaj acting as the new Ying Yang Twins lineup, and while Hall of Fame offers up plenty of these vibrant, exciting moments, that "classic feel" is nowhere to be found. Choppy overall flow and the feeling those skits and joiners might have helped place it a notch below Sean's knockout debut, but the rapper's growth (his nostalgic reminiscing on the opening "Nothing Is Stopping You" is a masterful mix of effortless and poetic) and his continued embrace of artistic freedom (check "Ashley," where guest Miguel blasts off "I'm just so f**kin' lucky you're my girl" on a polished, otherwise radio-friendly ballad) certainly right the ship. Bouncing between cloud rap and Kanye soul, "Toyota Music" is an easy pick, and when the alt-rock/summer-hop track "You Don't Know" comes on like Drake fronting Florence + the Machine (background vocals courtesy of an uncredited Ellie Goulding), Sean rides the No I.D. production like a champ. Besides these pop moments, true hip-hop thrives on a soul-filling promise to do better with Nas and Kid Cudi called "First Chain," and with the gravelly voice of Jeezy and the 808 kicking the woofers inside-out, "It's Time" checks off the box next to "trunk rumbler," making the superstar hip-hop album inventory complete. Fifteen cuts means this one is fat with an "f" and a bit too cumbersome to convert on first listen, but the sophomore slump this is not, meaning anyone who devoured Sean's debut should re-up with this one.
© David Jeffries /TiVo
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released August 26, 2019 | Getting Out Our Dreams, Inc. - Def Jam Recordings
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released February 3, 2017 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released December 8, 2017 | Republic - MB - Big Sean
In a busy 2017, Detroit emcee Big Sean and producer Metro Boomin issued a handful of projects before teaming up for the collaborative effort Double or Nothing. Months after the release of Sean's chart-topping fourth LP, I Decided., and in the same year that saw Metro Boomin collaborate with NAV (Perfect Timing) and Offset/21 Savage (Without Warning), the pair delivered an album that feels more like a mixtape than a fully realized full-length. With Metro's dark trap production, Double or Nothing is sonically cohesive and maintains its cool vibe throughout, even though many of the songs are indistinguishable to the passing ear. Reuniting after a trio of tracks from I Decided., Sean and Metro continue to play well off each other. Highlights include the popping single "Pull Up N Wreck" with 21 Savage; the absolutely filthy "So Good" with Kash Doll, a which is reminiscent of Run the Jewel's "Love Again" romp; and the sweeping "In Tune," a melodic, string-drenched pause in the overall intensity. Another one of the four solo Sean moments is the serious heart of the project. "Savage Time" is a quick turn in subject matter, hopping from boasting, sex, and hedonism to focus on political turmoil, racial disparity, and the crisis in Flint, Michigan, a cause close to Sean's heart. Even though it follows the horniness of "So Good," "Savage Time" swiftly reminds listeners of Sean's sincerity and substance outside of the studio. Overall, Double or Nothing is mostly a party, boosted by guests like 2 Chainz, Travis Scott, Young Thug, and Swae Lee. While it doesn't feel like a fully realized album statement, it's a satisfying dose of content from Big Sean and Metro Boomin.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released January 1, 2011 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
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Named after his successful mixtape series, Big Sean’s official debut skillfully balances his underground promise with his big money dreams and winds up an approachable winner with long-lasting appeal. His hook-filled anthem “I Do It” is an instant floor-filler thanks a No I.D./Legendary Traxster co-production, but the reason to return is supreme smart-aleck Sean, who at one point raps in Family Guy-speak, referencing cad character Quagmire and boasting “My cash flow, I giggity-gig it.” On “Dance (A$$),” he’s mixing a MC Hammer sample with a booty beat while quoting Pootie Tang, while “High” finds the crafty prankster trading weed jokes with Wiz Khalifa and Chiddy Bang for a track that runs a clever 4:20. If you’re looking for something more sane and Drake, “Marvin & Chardonnay” makes the bed squeak with some help from executive producer/label owner Kanye West, while the cool, John Legend feature “Memories (Part II)” gives Khalifa, Currensy, Cudi, and the rest of the successful stoner school something to shoot for with its opening couplet “Sometimes I dream bigger than I live/Sometimes I think better when I’m lit.” “So Much More” does what it says, adding brilliant lines like “I swear I’ve been through everything in life but the coffin/You say the sky’s the limit, hi bitch, I’m moonwalkin’” to the usually hackneyed format of the autobiographical track. At 12 cuts long, the album is right between right-sized and “leave them wanting more,” and when it comes to being well-rounded, these different-flavored tracks offer variety without wildly stepping out of Big Sean’s comfort zone. Fun, inventive, swaggering, and smart, Finally Famous is an exciting debut.
© David Jeffries /TiVo
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released July 24, 2019 | Getting Out Our Dreams, Inc. - Def Jam Recordings
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released July 26, 2019 | Getting Out Our Dreams, Inc. - Def Jam Recordings
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released October 1, 2015 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released December 8, 2017 | Republic - MB - Big Sean
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released February 3, 2015 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released February 24, 2015 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
Artistically, three is the charm for Big Sean as Dark Sky Paradise is much more expansive than previous efforts, sometimes grinding with executive producer Kanye West's love of the dark, and other times bouncing with the snark, swagger, and style that propelled this Detroit rapper to the top. "Paradise" is a prime example of the latter as it busts into the strip club with a Mike-Will-Made-It beat as Sean strings expletives together for an intricate weave, but the man who yearned to be Finally Famous with his debut got it, and is no longer drunk on fame, because as the song explains, the hangover is well underway. Just as infectious and twice as slick, "I Don't Fuck with You" featuring E-40 drops sly lines like "These ho's chase bread, all day/She got a bird brain," while the great "Now I wear v-necks, people ask what happened to the crew?" comes from "Win Some, Lose Some," a key track that links the pop side of the album to the problems side. Problems like the loss of family, as the elegant "One Man Can Change the World" gains strength from the bittersweet swirl of emotions commonly known as the five stages of grief; then there's the ridiculous and winning "Deep," which ruminates and stomps as if Three 6 Mafia were subbing for this week's philosophy class. Mentor Kanye's fingerprints are all over the beginning of the album as "Dark Sky (Skyscrapers)" slowly unfurls like a West-styled album intro, while "Blessings" and "All Your Fault" both sound as if Drake took a swing at Yeezy's 808s and Heartbreak album and then shattered all expectations. There's no filler, and the overall LP flow is near perfect on any non-Deluxe version that doesn't run past the "Outro." Wise, infectious, memorable and, as the song says, "Deep," Dark Sky Paradise suggests that grown-up doesn't necessarily mean beat-up, even after all the brutal punches life can throw.
© David Jeffries /TiVo
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Hip-Hop/Rap - Released February 3, 2017 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
Big Sean's fourth full-length, I Decided., is a significant evolution in terms of depth and maturity. While not as exciting and immediate as his great third LP, Dark Sky Paradise, I Decided. is an important step for the Detroit rapper, demonstrating his ability to grow. Even with appearances by Eminem, Migos, and Jhené Aiko (as TWENTY88) -- and with various assists from big names like Kanye West, Travis Scott, and Beenie Man -- Sean is never overshadowed. I Decided. is solely his show. The album's title serves as a reminder of a major turning point in his life -- when he decided to follow a different path -- and over 14 tracks, listeners are treated to the interplay between "old" and "new" Seans. The Don's flow remains strong, but it's the lyrics that shine most, perhaps his most introspective and reflective to date. On the de facto Jeremih-assisted opener, "Light," Sean realizes "counting money never feels as good as counting blessings." Later, on "Halfway Off the Balcony," he acknowledges that a "job is way more than a salary" and, when it comes to love, "chemistry means way more than anatomy." These epiphanies are refreshing, especially in the context of the album's narrative of personal development. "Voices in My Head/Stick to the Plan" is the album's climax, a Gollum/Smeagol-style split personality back-and-forth that builds to a light-speed third verse that sets up the final stretch of I Decided. "Sunday Morning Jetpack" is a bright and breezy trip down memory lane, while the big Migos feature, "Sacrifices," finds Offset, Quavo, and Sean exhausting themselves with reminders of what they've been through to get to the top ("we all come from sacrifice"). Above all the personal triumph and self-awareness, the heart of I Decided. is "Inspire Me," a touching dedication to his mother, Myra Anderson. A "Dear Mama" for 2017, it pays respect to his upbringing and the woman responsible for keeping him grounded. She appears via phone recording on the album closer, the standout moment "Bigger Than Me," which manages to be both an ode to his dear mama and a showcase for his efforts for Flint, Michigan's water crisis. The Flint Chozen Choir provides the uplifting hook, while old-school Kanye-esque production elevates the track into the heavens. It's the most inspirational song on an already affirmative album, connecting his past, present, and future with a newfound mantra to live life to its full potential. While I Decided. may not light up the club like his past efforts, it shines a different, more nurturing light onto deeper parts of his soul.
© Neil Z. Yeung /TiVo
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CD£13.49
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released January 1, 2013 | Getting Out Our Dreams Inc. (G.O.O.D.) Music - IDJ
Booklet
Originally announced as having that "classic feel" with skits and other whatnot, Big Sean's sophomore effort arrives with only one skit, the awfully upfront bit of erotica dubbed "Freaky." It introduces the standout number "MILF," where the Detroit rapper goes Southern strip club with Juicy J and Nicki Minaj acting as the new Ying Yang Twins lineup, and while Hall of Fame offers up plenty of these vibrant, exciting moments, that "classic feel" is nowhere to be found. Choppy overall flow and the feeling those skits and joiners might have helped place it a notch below Sean's knockout debut, but the rapper's growth (his nostalgic reminiscing on the opening "Nothing Is Stopping You" is a masterful mix of effortless and poetic) and his continued embrace of artistic freedom (check "Ashley," where guest Miguel blasts off "I'm just so f**kin' lucky you're my girl" on a polished, otherwise radio-friendly ballad) certainly right the ship. Bouncing between cloud rap and Kanye soul, "Toyota Music" is an easy pick, and when the alt-rock/summer-hop track "You Don't Know" comes on like Drake fronting Florence + the Machine (background vocals courtesy of an uncredited Ellie Goulding), Sean rides the No I.D. production like a champ. Besides these pop moments, true hip-hop thrives on a soul-filling promise to do better with Nas and Kid Cudi called "First Chain," and with the gravelly voice of Jeezy and the 808 kicking the woofers inside-out, "It's Time" checks off the box next to "trunk rumbler," making the superstar hip-hop album inventory complete. Fifteen cuts means this one is fat with an "f" and a bit too cumbersome to convert on first listen, but the sophomore slump this is not, meaning anyone who devoured Sean's debut should re-up with this one.
© David Jeffries /TiVo
