Why Big Sean Ain’t Top Five
By: Weber Wong
Tags: Music, Poetry, Rap

An analysis of Big Sean & the rap game

Why Big Sean Ain’t Top Five

Big Sean faces heavy criticism for his “lack of depth”, but it only takes a cursory listen to his music to realize this criticism is unfounded. Set against a vivid background of complex themes & sonic soundscapes in both “Dark Sky Paradise” & “I Decided.”, any attentive listener can pick up on Sean’s ability to combine lyrical talent with impeccable flow to create bars that provide initial delight & replay value. Sean has a unique ability to hit the sweet spot on the spectrum of complexity & comprehensibility, allowing the reader to discover hidden entendres by listening to his bars instead of reading them on Genius (as is often the case for Kendrick).

I truly believe that Big Sean has Top Five potential, but he currently isn’t really in the “conversation”. While this “conversation” is simply fickle perception driven by a few (biased) tastemakers, perception eventually shapes reality — what you think of a rapper’s talent, prestige, or authenticity ultimately influences what you think of their bars. And what you think of a rapper’s bars influences what your friend thinks of their bars when you’ve got the aux. So as someone who fucks with Big Sean, I’ve decided to analyze the root causes for the undeserved defamation directed at Big Sean — defamation which is precluding him from the Top Five “conversation” despite his talent.

Dark Sky Paradise — Author’s Favorite

The impediment to Big Sean’s widespread respect & acceptance can best be understood in two parts.

I. Initial Perception

With hits like “I Don’t Fuck With You”, “Bounce Back”, & “Beware”, mainstream audiences have been exposed primarily to Sean’s braggadocious & womanizing (read: fuckboy) tendencies.

Selected Excerpts:

“I Don’t Fuck With You”

“Bounce Back”

“Beware”

(Not necessarily a paragon of virtue.)

While every rapper (& human) has these aspects in their personality, it just so happens that these characteristics are at the forefront of Sean’s mainstream image. The result is that Big Sean appears as an immature & morally questionable hedonist (read: dick). In reality, Big Sean is a character with great depth & maturity. Unfortunately, this depth is hidden deep in his discography, in quality songs like “Stay Down” & “I Deserve It” which don’t have a chance of reaching the radio given their content [1].

“A$$” ft. Nicki Minaj certainly doesn’t help. “A$$” went 3x Multi-Platinum, forever ruining Big Sean’s chance of being taken seriously.

II. “Champion of Rap” Ineligibility

Because of Big Sean’s distasteful mainstream perception, hardline rap aficionados are uncomfortable making Big Sean a “champion” of lyrical rap. Lyricality is the most important criteria for rapper prestige & acceptance, so tastemakers’ reluctance to proselytize Big Sean’s lyrical talent precludes him from the Top Five conversation.

After all, why would a rap show host defend Big Sean’s lyrical reputation when “I DON’T, FUCK WITH, YOUUU” is part of the cultural consciousness? Perhaps more importantly, why would you personally defend Big Sean from the slander of your fellow rap aficionados? From personal experience, defending Big Sean’s lyricism is difficult when he has so many cringe-worthy bars. It’s almost as hard as being a Drake fan.

The airwave & word-of-mouth negative influence on his reputation combine, and after a few years, the flywheel effect has rendered Big Sean’s reputation irreversibly tainted — he will always be considered a “mainstream rapper”, not a “champion of rap” [2]. Unless of course, he does something drastic.

Conclusion

I’ve always hated critics who describe problems without delineating solutions. So to avoid hypocrisy, I would like to humbly propose the following radical strategy to Big Sean to help him achieve Top Five status:

Drop a purely lyrical album. No sell out BS like “A$$”. Preferably, the album would have diverse soundscapes and deep thematic content like “Dark Sky Paradise” & “I Decided” — maybe some “TWENTY88” R&B energy mixed in there. Diss everyone in this album, especially Kendrick Lamar (might as well diss Kanye and Drake if you can find a reason to). Genius, Complex, and other media entities that profit off attention would undoubtedly make IG posts with your diss bars in them, drawing considerable attention to your new album. If your album is high quality, all of a sudden you’re in the running for album of the year. When you get dissed back, drop diss singles in retaliation. Make sure they have in a bit of pop in them to ensure they get airplay (see: Back to Back by Drake). This is the best strategy for someone with pop-rap capabilities. Also, if you’re able to craft a “you vs. the entire rap scene” underdog narrative, that’s a big plus. Last but not least, use your newfound clout to establish yourself as a black human rights activist. Kendrick, Jay Z, and Tupac are legendary rappers because they have used their success to call for societal improvement. In this politically charged environment we live in, a modern Malcolm X could be welcome.

Of course, the last step requires you to sacrifice a sanguine & controversy-free lifestyle (as Tupac’s life and death shows us). But you should know by now that achieving universal respect isn’t easy, and perhaps impossible.

[1] One might argue that these “deeper” songs don’t become popular because they aren’t good enough. I would retort that audiences’ tastes aren’t good enough — they would rather scream “I DON’T, FUCK WITH, YOUUU” at a frat party than appreciate lyricism & emotional depth.

[2] Kendrick & J. Cole are also mainstream, but even their mainstream hits are based in qualities of lyricality, whereas Sean’s hits shine for their other, less reputable qualities.