 Wale | Izza Kizza  |
Everybody who has a relationship with Kanye or who wants Kanye in the studio or already signed to him, they’re gonna want him to work on their stuff. And he knows that.
Whether he knows it or not, no G.O.O.D. Music artist is more like Kanye at the beginning of his career with Roc-A-Fella Records more than Big Sean. Whereas fellow G.O.O.D. Music artist Kid Cudi is like the Kanye West of today, Big Sean is like his boss used to be, fighting for respect on a label full of artists who are arguably more popular.
Maybe that’s why the man born Sean Michael Leonard Anderson likes to tell people he didn’t get on G.O.O.D. Music because he and Kanye West are cousins. Even with two critically acclaimed mixtapes under his belt, Finally Famous Vol. 1 and the more recent Uknowbigsean, neither of them has received nearly as much acclaim as some of his peers’ work, like Drake’s So Far Gone or Wale’s Mixtape About Nothing. And of all the new artists on G.O.O.D. Music, Sean, who at 21 is the youngest artist signed to G.O.O.D., is the one with no sideshow. He doesn’t produce, he doesn’t sing. Big Sean just raps, but he raps well.
As Big Sean puts the finishing touches on his major label debut, Finally Famous (G.O.O.D./Def Jam), VIBE caught up with the Detroit MC to talk about his relationship with all the G.O.O.D. music artists, what he’s learned from working with Kanye, and why he’s bad at picking beats.
Describe your writing process.
Some of it is like Kanye, Jay-Z, and Biggie. I used to write on paper and stuff, but a few years back I was in the studio with Kanye while he was working on Graduation, and as we were vibing to a song, I pulled out a pen and pad and started writing. He was like, ‘Aw man, that’s whack.’ But he just said that because he had already explained to me that he was trying make me his protégé. Since that day, I never wrote again on a piece of paper; I started writing in my head. It used to be very hard. Now it’s easy. You know, you figure you only forget the whack stuff. You only gonna remember the stuff you wanna remember.
How long does it take you to write songs like “Million Dollars,” which is more personal, compared with something like “Getcha Some,” which is more about stunting?
“Get Ya Some” took like an hour and a half to write. That was one of the easiest songs I ever wrote. I wrote it so long ago, too. But “Million Dollars” was kind of a more heartfelt song. I changed the lyrics to “Million Dollars” twice. But each time, it was very easy. Also, like them long freestyles, like I rap on [Kanye West’s] “Say You Will.” I did “A Story to Tell,” where I redid a Biggie track, and that took a long time to write. It took me like a whole day to write it.
The “Say You Will” freestyle is a very personal track.
Yeah, that was a very heartfelt one that took a while. I wanted to make sure I got my emotions out right.
Did you have to censor yourself? When you get emotional, do you pull back or let it all hang out?
No, I just let it all out. I just let how I feel out. I never cried. Have I ever cried? I don’t think I’ve ever cried writing a rap. It’s the best therapy, though.
On “Say You Will,” you say, “Saying that you changed my life, dog, is being modest/but honestly I wish that I can take you off tour/put you in the studio/so you can focus on my shit.” Have you two ever talked about that line?
I’ve been with him a lot after I released it, and me and him just never talked about it. I don’t think it’s something to be talked about. I mean like everybody who has a relationship with Kanye or who wants Kanye in the studio or already signed to him, they’re gonna want him to work on their stuff. And he knows that. I know he listened to my mixtape. I don’t know if he specifically heard that line, like, “Oh, my God.” But I know that he knows that people need him in the studio.
Is he hands on with the mixtapes, or are the mixtapes more you and your people and the album is more his hands on it?
Well, the album is more his hands on; the mixtape was more like my hands on. I always think I’m almost done with the album, and then he’ll come through and be like, “No, you gotta do this.” It was somewhat frustrating. I’m about to go finish it up now, and I really think it’s going to be great. And it only makes it that much better at the end results. You know, I feel like he’s a blessing, man, if you really wanna make a quality album. If you really want your album composed right, a great critique. It’s really great to run stuff by him.
Do you ever remember a time or a particular song that you guys disagreed on?
Yeah, he didn’t care for the first “Million Dollars.” That’s why I rewrote it. He said I should come harder. I still wanted to keep that same emotion. Same with some other songs people haven’t heard. I rewrote a couple things for my album, but it’s all for the better, though.
What about the beats? Like, the ones on your mixtapes are all over the place.
I have a very hard time picking beats. I might hear a track, and it won’t even sound good to me, but then I’ll just do a song to it and it will sound great to me. But I don’t have the best judgment when it comes to picking beats. That’s why I like to have other people help me pick beats. I’ve passed up some good shit before. And I’ve gone back and been like, “damn.”
Did you pass up anything we’ve heard?
Well, I just did a song that’s not released yet with my man Tyga, from Young Money. Me and him was doing a song like a week ago, and the beat was a 9th Wonder beat, but I really didn’t like the beat like that. He was like, “Man, we gotta do this.” I wasn’t really feeling it, but then I recorded to it and saw the vibe and was like, “Oh, okay, I see what you saying. This shit is kinda fresh.” That’s just an example. 9th Wonder has great production, it’s just you know nobody likes every beat somebody makes. I don’t even like every Kanye track.
A couple of weeks ago, there were some pictures floating around of you, Kanye, and Drake in the studio. What came out of that?
Yeah, it’s about to be my first single. We’re about to release that on the radio. Me, Drake and Kanye. It’s called “Made.” It’s just a nice song. It’s an anthem type song. It’s not like a “Million Dollars”–type song. It’s more so of a “Can’t Tell Me Nothing”–type of song. Its gonna do well, I think. We’re gonna just start it off on the radio.
How do you get your hands on the best Kanye beats? Have you heard beats and you’ve wanted them and they’re not necessarily for you? Or have you ever heard something and been like, “Yo, Kanye I need that beat,” over him giving it to another artist?
Hell, yeah, man. It happens all the time. It’s like, you know, he doesn’t make enough beats for everybody, so you gotta fight over them, but there’s definitely been tracks I’ve heard and I’m like, “Dog, I really want this beat.” He’s been like, “Aw, man, this is for Jay, or I’m giving Ludacris that, or this is already a song for whoever.” That’s happened before, but he gives everybody what they need.
What’s your relationship like with the other G.O.O.D Music artists, like Kid Cudi and Mr. Hudson?
My relationships with G.O.O.D. Music is different with everybody. Me and GLC are real tight. Me and Really Doe are homies. Me and Common are good people. I don’t see Consequence that much, but me and him are real cool, and he shows me a lot of respect and I got a lot of respect for him. Me and Mr. Hudson definitely have a good relationship; we’ve collaborated in the studio and stuff. Me and Cudi prolly have, our relationship is like, I don’t really see him that much really. We don’t really talk that much. You know I kind of, like, see him around at, like, G.O.O.D Music shows and stuff. Usually he’s out doing his own thing, I’m out doing my own thing. Our relationship it is what it is. It’s no beef or nothing at all. Me and him just never really collaborated on anything. I don’t know why. It’s something that needs to happen.
With the buzz you’ve created for yourself through your two mixtapes, what can people expect from the real album?
This is gonna be one to remember. We’re shooting for October, so I got to hurry up and finish this month. It should be great. Me and Pharrell on it, Kanye, Drake, a lot of people on it. Of course, I want to come out the gate and sell 10 million would records, but if I sell 10,000 records and everybody in the world still hears it, I be happy with that. As long as people hear the music and as long as I get my recognition off of it, man, that’s all I really want. I want to be a big artist.
Press play to listen to Big Sean's "Say You Will" from his mixtape, Uknowbigsean
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