Photo: Press
Big Sean is unquestionably rap’s most improved MC of the past 10 years. Since releasing his 2007 mixtape Finally Famous things have been on the up and up for the Detroit rhymer. He went from Kanye West’s latest discovery with a lot to learn who didn’t always hit the mark with his music to one of the game’s most respected and sought after artists, one who can now be mentioned in the same breath as a Kendrick Lamar, a Drake and or a J. Cole. And if his new album, I Decided, is anything to go by his upward trajectory shows no signs of slowing down.
A conceptional spark of brilliance that requires multiple spins, Sean’s latest offering is a throwback to the days when an album felt like a musical jigsaw puzzle that required its listener to put the pieces together. The days of working out concepts and narratives within an album may not be as exciting as they once were, especially when some websites are quick to give the game away sometimes even before the album drops, but there are still a few artists that continue to give listeners more than just a collection of songs to digest, and aside from Kendrick, Lupe Fiasco and a few others Sean is without doubt one of the best.
While lead singles ‘Bounce Back’ and ‘Moves’ initially feel like your bog standard modern day club bangers - which instrumentally there’s no denying that they are - they’re an integral part of the album’s overall narrative, so listen close. Telling the story of two parallel lives that are in fact both Sean, each life is the result of different choices - hence the album’s title.
Opening to an older version of Sean complaining about the choices he’s made in life - the job he’s in, not being able to inspire the youth and the mistakes he’s made that have affected his family and his girl - he’s then hit by a car. Reincarnated and given a chance to do it all over again after heading towards the ‘Light’ (the album’s first song), I Decided then becomes a journey in rebuilding and reflection. It’s about giving people flowers while they’re still here instead of after they’ve gone. It’s about love, life and whether or not certain decisions should have been made and whether or not if given a chance to replay certain parts you’d do it because life’s lowest points are sometimes the catalyst to catapult you into a better situation.
Whether it’s sticking to the initial plan even when your friends and family tell you it’s wrong (‘Voices In my Head/Stick To the Plan’), rescuing a friend with romantic potential from an abusive relationship (‘Jump Out the Window’) or leaving a poisonous relationship and eventually realising it wasn’t good (‘Owe Me’), Sean tackles various subject matters that can strike a chord with even the most anti-rap individual.
Following a more contemporary trap theme, instrumentally I Decided isn’t as strong as Sean’s Dark Sky Paradise - the rapper’s most celebrated body of work to date - although it does have its moments. The FrancisGotHeat and WondaGurl produced ‘No Favours’, which features an erratically divine tongue twisting verse from Eminem that has the internet divided in opinion - is haunting in a weightless nightmare sense while sampling The Pharcyde’s ‘Passin’ Me By’, which in turn samples Quincy Jones’ ‘Summer in the City’.
If you’re a fan of G-Eazy’s ‘Complete’ then you’ll enjoy the backdrop created by Amaire Johnson on ‘Sunday Morning Jetpack’. While it doesn't necessarily sound the same it does however feel the same. Then there’s another Amaire Johnson production that stands out, the Jhené Aiko assisted ‘Same Time Pt.1’. Delicately sensual, it’s a teaser of things to come on the forthcoming full length TWENTY88 (Big Sean and Jhené Aiko) album.
I Decided is Sean’s way of saying he no longer wants to live with regrets. He’s all about banishing negativity and enjoying the finer things in life with the people he cares about the most. The album is also a thank you to the real ones in his life - ‘Inspire Me’ is a beautiful moment that hears Sean thank his mother for everything she's done for him. Definitely an album that deserves your ears for more than a few spins, Sean’s relatable spirit is the reason why he is where he is today and the reason why you’re reading this review.
