Does Big Sean Belong in Hip-Hop’s Elite Tier?

A long-term effect of intense competition is it reveals who you are. Will you sink or swim? Can you stand tall against your peers or will you falter? With how competitive the mid-to-late 2000s blog era was, remaining relevant after it was over is an accomplishment in itself. In the case of Big Sean, who excelled within that time and outside of it, there is plenty for him to be proud of. Mostly quiet since 2021, outside of feature verses and the What You Expect EP with Hit-Boy, Sean made his return last week with “Whole Time Freestyle,” raising eyebrows with, “I think where I lack most as an artist is consistency / I just haven't had the energy to compete with enemies / Or y'all so-called bigger three,” Sean plainly shows how he sees his position within rap. He later followed up with the new single “Precision.” In all reality, he has accomplished a lot, even while he had to directly compete with the Big 3 of Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole.

Big Sean - Whole Time (Freestyle)www.youtube.com

When Big Sean first started to take off in 2007, he was one of the new fresh faces on the scene. Holding a unique style (think of a punchline rap, with a pause before the big finish), flashy fashion and a Kanye West co-sign as the future of GOOD Music, the Detroit MC had it all. It took a while for his debut album to finally drop, but he kept his name afloat from 2007 to 2011 with features and his Finally Famous mixtape series.

Good Sh.. - Big Seanwww.youtube.com

Once he dropped Finally Famous in 2011, Sean was commercially viable almost immediately. Laced with three hit songs in “Marvin & Chardonnay” with Kanye West and Roscoe Dash, “My Last” featuring Chris Brown, and “Dance (Ass),” Big Sean came out swinging and set the groundwork for a long-lasting career. Sean dropped four more solo albums from 2011 to 2020, with every project being at least certified gold, and three platinum albums in the aforementioned Finally Famous, 2015’s Dark Sky Paradise (double platinum), and 2017’s I Decided. If the conversation is hit songs, Sean has 20 RIAA-certified singles, among them the octuple-platinum “I Don’t Fuck With You, and the six-times platinum “Bounce Back.” Commercially, Sean has done it all.

Big Sean - I Don't Fuck With You (Official Music Video) ft. E-40www.youtube.com

Another thing Sean hasn’t got much credit for is his ability to walk between two worlds. He came up as the buzzing online rapper when he was shoulder-to-shoulder with so many artists in his lane. He stayed patient and turned that into a career where his debut album went platinum, only for him to drop a mixtape that changed perceptions of him a year later in 2012. Detroit, the project where Sean played by his own rules, erased any concerns that he had tasted major label success and changed his style.

Big Sean - Mula (Ft. French Montana) [Music Video]www.youtube.com

In all reality, Sean’s read on his career where he mentions his lack of consistency, is correct. He’s a talented rapper, but the quality of his albums over time has been uneven. Detroit and Dark Sky Paradise are seen as his best work, with his other albums being relatively hit or miss. Sean doesn’t take many risks with his music when he likely has the talent to do so, which may be why many people’s reads of him can be polarizing.

Some see Big Sean as a slept-on rapper who hasn’t received his just due, while others feel he has been nudged to a level of success that he doesn’t deserve. The true answer may be that he had to go toe-to-toe with all-timers like Kendrick, Drake, and Cole, and they rose above nearly everyone else. There is still value in being highly accomplished, while not being the top dog. You simply can’t win ‘em all.

Big Sean - Precisionwww.youtube.com