Rising Above Mediocrity: Big Sean Composes A Top Chart Album

Vinson de Guzman, Writer
November 5, 2020

Announced on March 25, 2020, Big Sean’s September 2020 album is the follow up to the well-received December 2017 album Double or Nothing. Peaking at number one on the Billboard charts on the week of September 14 and having received a solid 7 from famous Youtube music reviewer, Anthony Fantano, Detroit 2 is a sequel to Sean’s September 2012 mixtape Detroit. Consisting of

21 tracks, filled with a variety of instruments, experimental beats, catchy lyrics, and a lot of features, Detroit 2 is introspective on Detroit and the environment it creates. It achieves this with features including skits by Dave Chappelle, Erykah Badu, and Stevie Wonder. Sean also gets on a personal level, exposing himself with songs like “Lucky Me” and “Deep Reverence”. Although this may arguably be Big Sean’s best album to date, there is a lot that could have been left out of the album.

Detroit 2 brings a lot to the table. There are several good lyrics and bars riddled throughout the album that showcases Big Sean’s lyrical talent. Many songs have those one-liners and “caption worthy” lyrics that a lot of people look for in a song. There are those lyrics that hit you and stick with you even after finishing the album. My personal favorite comes from the 9th track, “ZTFO.” The line is, “If we don’t have the same vision, then we can’t exchange contacts.” Another major positive is most of the features in the album. With features from Nipsey Hussle, Post Malone, Travis Scott, and even Eminem, you’re bound to find memorable moments. Another great thing about it is that, although there are a lot of collabs and features, Big Sean doesn’t get outshined or outperformed in the album, like some of his previous albums. The beats are catchy and some are memorable. There’s also a variety of instruments that complement the beats and lyrics, which elevates the songs past their ceilings.

Overall, this album is a good casual album for rap enthusiasts and people fishing for Instagram captions. Please consider checking out Big Sean’s previous studio album, I Decided if you enjoyed listening to Detroit 2 as well as his prequel mixtape Detroit.