Photo: Press
If Big Sean is an underdog then the sky isn’t blue, grass isn’t green and Lil Yachty is a better rapper than 2Pac. But for some reason this is the brush the 28-year-old Detroit rapper is being painted with. Could it be because he's not one to call out names when claiming he’s the best? Is it because he keeps himself to himself a lot of the time and just gets on with the job? Or is it simply because rap fans take him for granted knowing that he’s consistently putting out quality material? Whatever the answer an underdog he is not.
Landing at number one on Billboard just a couple of weeks ago with his fourth studio album, I Decided, Sean continues to prove he’s got what it takes to be one of the greats. Without doubt one of the most improved MCs of the past five years, if you’re talking about the best of the best when it comes to the new breed in rap and his name doesn’t get brought up, you’ve played yourself. Qualified to be mentioned in the same breath as Drake, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Chance the Rapper, Logic, G-Eazy, Big K.R.I.T. and a few others, if comparing Sean to a rapper from a previous generation then Fabolous springs to mind. Consistent. Nice with the punchlines. Varying flows. Loved by the ladies. Constantly relevant. These are all qualities the two share.
If the fact that Kanye West saw star quality in Sean early on when he rapped for him at a radio station in Detroit - something he discusses on ‘Nothing is Stopping You’, the opening song on his Hall of Fame album - isn’t enough of a co-sign for you to pay attention, then how about the four Grammy nominations, multiple platinum and gold singles and two Billboard number one albums? Yeah, thought that might catch your attention.
Congratulations on hitting the top spot on Billboard. It’s a concept album that sees your older self guiding you through life. What made you decide to make it?
It was kinda natural for me. It was kinda like how I feel in real life so it wasn’t really that far of a stretch for me. It all started with a conversation I had with my homie in the studio one night and I told him that sometimes I feel like this is my chance to do my life over and that sometimes I feel like I got the wisdom of my older self guiding me. After saying all of this he looked at me kinda tripped out but then the next day he was like, “Man, what you said really stuck with me. You should try incorporating that into a song or something.” And then when I thought about it I realised that the album was already that. It wasn’t intentional to do a loose narrative along with it but I did it simply to inspire people, give them a different way of thinking, you know? The album could easily have been very good without the skits to me but I only added those skits for the people who really needed to hear them and needed them to touch them, or the people who were like, “Damn, I need to get my shit right,” or, “Man, I really need to call my mom more.” It was just things like that.
It was very brave to make an album like this, especially in the current climate where singles dominate everything…
Thank you, I appreciate that. We’re not slowing down at all man. This album was definitely experimental but it was so relieving too to get it out, to do the merchandise with it, to do all these different things I never really got the chance to do with my music before. It was just super cool to see.
Did you struggle at any point making the album? Because you had songs you wanted to but coundn't include because of the underlying narrative.
Yeah, there were definitely times where [I struggled]. I had a lot more songs for the album but they didn’t fit necessarily. However, I didn’t want it to be a concept album that was so conceptual down to the detail, I still wanted it to be enjoyable and be played in more than just an environment of people sitting around thinking about it. It’s kinda hard to do that sometimes. It’s hard to take away songs and try and simplify songs. There have been times where I’ve had to simplify things to get my point across and honestly sometimes simplifying songs is harder than complicating them and making them harder by being super clever. It takes genius sometimes to be simple. So that was one thing I really had to check myself on but still make sure I was on there lyrically. We put those hours in and I’m happy with how it came out. There were definitely songs that didn’t make the album that were amazing that will probably be on the next one.
What are some of your favourite concept albums?
Man, there are a lot of good ones. I’m trying to think, as far as concept albums go there are some I consider concept albums that others wouldn’t. To me I think Kanye’s College Dropout was a concept album, and of course good kid m.A.A.d. city. I really think College Dropout was a great concept album. I feel like he really took that concept through a couple of albums, I thought that was dope. I just think Kanye is really good at creating concept albums.
The response to Eminem's verse on 'No Favours' has been very hot and cold. It's like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. Why do you think that is?
I don’t know, I thought the verse was super fire. Everybody has an opinion. I didn’t do it to try and please peoples I did it because I thought it was hard and because I liked it. Plus I think he said some stuff that was really necessary to say and things that I didn’t necessarily get across on the song that I felt added to it. See that’s my point of doing features, I only recruit for features when I feel like they’re really going to add to the song, or they’re going to do something that I’m not. That’s exactly what Eminem did. I mean Eminem is Eminem, man. I feel like he brought a crazy verse to that song. I feel honoured.
Did you have second thoughts about featuring the verse as it doesn't really relate to what you're talking about on the rest of the record?
Hell no I didn't have no second thoughts, I thought it was super tight. I thought it was hard man and I think it fit the song pretty good. I thought it was a moment within the song where you listen in, grab yourself some popcorn and you’re just like, “What? He said what? He said this?”
The real turning point for your career was the Detroit mixtape. That solidified you as one of the best of the new breed. Are we going to see a new Big Sean mixtape at some point in the future where you're not constrained by samples, and singles aren't a huge concern?
Yeah, for sure. I try not to make singles and all that stuff. Even with my last couple albums I did have singles on there that were successful and stuff, even songs like ‘Blessings’ or ‘I Don’t Fuck With You’, I didn’t know how those were gonna be received. I mean E-40 is on ‘I Don’t Fuck With You’ with a 40 bar verse or some shit and E-40 is not like a radio artist so so I didn’t think that it was a radio song at all. Same thing with ‘Blessings’ and all those songs. I just did what I like. And with I Decided it was the same thing. I didn’t think ‘Bounce Back’ or any of those songs were radio songs, they were just songs I was feeling. I don’t want to give too much away but I have no intention of slowing down at all. And I think Detroit is one of my best projects too so I wouldn’t just wanna leave it at that.
You have so many great individual verses, it's hard to choose your best. What would you say your personal favourite verse of yours is?
Wow, that is tough. My favourite verse? Fuck, I don’t know. That’s a tough one. I have no clue because certain songs make me feel certain ways, you know what I mean? One of my favourite verses I’ve ever spit was the second verse on ‘The Light’, on the intro of I Decided. When I did the ‘B Boy’ verse for Meek, I remember when I first laid it. That was one of those verses where when I came out the booth I was like, ‘Damn, I kinda went off on that one.’ I don’t let my verses go unless I feel they’re really up to par. I’ll always go back in and make it better if I don’t feel it’s up to par
You're always so open about your relationships when it comes to your music. Was that something you said to yourself from the beginning that you were going to do because surely that leaves you open to a lot of scrutiny and gossip
Nah, I think as an artist I have a responsibility to be honest and I decided I was going to put my personal life out on the line and make that sacrifice so people could find something they could hold on to from it. Hopefully they can relate to it and it helps them get through something, or it gets them somewhere. It’s not nerve-racking but you sit back sometimes and you’re like, “Damn, I’m about to let the whole world know that this happened,”, or that when someone died, it affected me a certain way, or it’s, “My mom did this,” and I’m then letting the world know I’m a momma’s boy and shit. It’s just me though so I decided to take that responsibility and put it all on the line, and I think that’s what makes art great. When you try and cover yourself up and not give people everything you’ve got - they’re the ones that don’t last.
‘Inspire Me’ is about your mother and is easily one of the best songs on I Decided. It’s so real, honest, and very relateable. After your mother first heard it how did she react?
She was in tears. When I first played it for her I didn’t tell her that the song was about her. So she was listening to it and she was like, “I like this one.” Then halfway through the first verse she was like, “Oh, it’s about me.” Then by the end of the first verse she was in tears. Growing up me and my mom would listen to Motown, you know? We were always playing Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, Isley Brothers. So I asked her, “Who do you want me to have sing the chorus? Do you want me to try and get Smokey Robinson or Stevie Wonder?” I wanted to shoot for the stars and create that type of vibe and she said, “No, you have to sing it. It’ll really mean more if you sing it to me.” So I did my best and it definitely is a real song that people can vibe to. I definitely want to shoot a video to that song. Getting my ideas and emotion across in that song was just a major win for me.
I Decided by Big Sean is out now
