Has Big Sean Finally Grown Up ?

by Alphonse Pierre

If Big Sean had an NBA equivalent it would be OJ Mayo.  OJ Mayo coming out of high school was one of the most highly regarded guard prospects ever.  Mayo’s hype was enormous, he drew equal crowds to the ones Lebron James was able to pull in high school.  Mayo was a two-time Ohio Mr Basketball, one of the most difficult awards to achieve in high school basketball and was an All American.  He then attended USC where his star status did not waver, as he went head to head with the likes of Kevin Love and Russell Westbrook.  Mayo was then drafted into the NBA where he never developed into the star he was supposed to be, constantly showing flashes but never being consistent enough to breakthrough.  Big Sean much like Mayo had a considerable amount of hype before he officially reached the professionals.  Big Sean’s amateur level lasted between 2007 and 2010, and in that time he became one of the most talked about artists during the rap mixtape renaissance that was occurring.  Sean watched as his counterparts catapulted into the big leagues, as major mixtapes led to success for Drake, Kid Cudi and Wiz Khalifa.  Finally Famous Volume 2 and Finally Famous Volume 3 released in 2009 and 2010, saw Big Sean create what many people believe are classic mixtapes, as his unique flow and essence pushed him into the upper echelon of underground rappers.  Fast forward to 2015 and Big Sean is in the same position as OJ Mayo (yes, I know Big Sean is much more popular than Mayo).  At one point they had all the hype in the world, but their talents have just never panned out.  Causing many people to contemplate if it is time to give up on them.

I personally wanted to give up on Big Sean, he has had two studio albums that are just simply put not very good and he seemed to be content in transforming into a pop-rap artist.  Big Sean cannot be given up on, because of who he has in his corner.  Much like in Rocky when the viewer was ready to give up on Rocky you couldn’t, because the camera would then switch to Rocky’s manager Mickey who would provide a monologue of encouragement and help keep Rocky’s mind focused on the ultimate goal.  Big Sean’s Mickey is Kanye West (praise Yeezus) and can you really give up on somebody who has that man behind them.  Kanye West the man who was able to take the 1990’s version of J Cole (Common) and help him create a classic album (Be).  Kanye West the man who made the world want to hear Consequence and Twista albums ( “Slow Jamz” is still ten fire emojis).  Kanye is a masterful executive producer and with his direction he may be able to bring quality out of Big Sean.

Over the past month since Big Sean has announced that his third studio album Dark Sky Paradise will be released in late February, I have begun to feel the Big Sean album we were promised years ago may finally be on the horizon.  Sean lately has been showing slight glimpses of hunger and seems to be tired of being a joke in rap.  This started with Big Sean’s feature on the latest MikeWillMadeIt mixtape Ransom, his feature on the album titled, “Paradise” showcases Sean’s rapid fire delivery, makes use of his unique pronunciation of words and the Mike Will production was a nice change of pace for Sean.  Then in the past week Big Sean was featured on the latest Meek Mill single, “B Boy” along with A$ap Ferg.  Sean does not only hold his own on a song with Meek Mill and Ferg, but he clearly out raps them.  Proving to fans that when it comes to braggadocio raps there still aren’t many better than Sean.  Then Big Sean took over the internet when he released his newest single, “Blessings” featuring Drake and Kanye West.  The song is going to be a hit ( people love Drake hooks) and we all know that, but the most important part of this song is that Sean outshined both Drake and Kanye West.  Too often in the past Big Sean allowed himself to get lyrically annihilated on his own songs (especially that “Control” song) , but this time around Big Sean ensured that he would stand out.  This could be attributed to Big Sean taking this album more seriously or maybe the Drake verse was just so substandard that it made Sean’s seem exceptional.

Big Sean needs to ensure that he doesn’t end up like Lupe Fiasco.  Lupe Fiasco released two solid albums early in his career, but after that almost all of his work has been lackluster.  Most people gave up on Lupe Fiasco years ago and now although his most recent album is very good, nobody cares.  Big Sean is 26 years old and his time to strike his now, the single, “IDFWU” was enormous and, “Blessings” may be able to have that same effect.  If he is able to stay down the path he has been on the past couple of months, I feel that the first formidable Big Sean album is near.  In a year where Drake, Kanye West and Kendrick Lamar are all releasing albums, this could be Sean’s chance to steal some of the spotlight.  This could be Big Sean’s anagnorisis moment, where he finally matures as an artist and ascents into the rap upper echelon.