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While Big Sean’s profile has consistently grown since joining Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music imprint at 19 year-old, the youngest artist in 'Ye’s stable is now 22 and poised to release his debut LP Finally Famous via Def Jam. On Monday (January 3) the young MC dropped a tagless version of his third and last installment of his Finally Famous mixtape series, which began in 2007. The Motor City wordsmith spoke to RapFix about his position in the game, upcoming collaborations with Chris Brown and Mike Posner and his scathing thoughts on blogs and leaked tracks.
Why re-release Finally Famous Vol 3: BIG?
People kept asking me for the tagless and then a lot DJs couldn’t play a lot of the songs because some don’t like playing stuff with other DJ’s tags on it. I did it for somewhat of a political reason, it’s just something to keep relevant in the streets. I’m a real street advocate. I believe you got to stay hot in the streets. I’m currently working on a project with [singer] Mike Posner as well.
How has signing to G.O.O.D. Music clashed, if at all, with your affinity for the streets?
Man, you just got to know how to balance everything. Kanye West is the biggest in the world, [so] people are waiting for what I have to offer. A lot of people think I can’t deliver on an album and I want to prove them wrong. There’s no manual on how to be a rapper, you just got to make your own way.
Is Finally Famous Vol 3: BIG the last one in the series?
That’s the last of the Finally Famous series, I wanted to do a three-part series. As of now, I still am gonna call my album Finally Famous with maybe a subtitle. I’m currently still working on it but really I’m trying to finish it this month and get it out as early as possible.
Are a lot of artists offering to collaborate on your debut album?
Yeah man, a lot of artists have been reaching out to me from Jadakiss, to Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj. It’s crazy and I’m definitely taking advantage of it. I do want my album to give a good sense of my artistry, I don’t want it to be full featured out.
In the past year you've worked with Drake and Chris Brown, describe those collaborations.
With Drake, we did that track "Made" and it was a real big song and that was supposed to be for the album but some di--head leaked it. I don’t know who it was. To them it’s getting hits on a blog, to us it’s our life. But it was a blessing in disguise because that record gave me a lot of notoriety. Chris Brown reached out to me and we got into the studio and made some magic with a few songs. We’re gonna be working on some more stuff together. He’s one of the realest Gs I’ve ever met.
Do you think the Internet and blogs are bad artists like yourself who are signed to a major?
I honestly feel like it’s more detrimental on a major level if you have a track you've planned for and you’re putting money behind it. With sponsorships, say Gatorade wanted to use ["Made"] as part of their campaign, it can affect [a deal] like that.
There are bunches of big labels like Roc Nation and Young Money, do you see those camps as competition or good for hip-hop?
I look at it as both. I feel like it’s a competition. I’m cool with everybody at Young Money. However, G.O.O.D. Music is the greatest team of all time. I say that in a sarcastic fun way but I do feel that way. If you don’t feel your team is the best, what the f--- you doing it for? I love Young Money, I love Maybach Music and I love Roc Nation. They all fam but let’s be real — G.O.O.D. Music is the team and we're going to show that in 2011.
Big Sean On Chris Brown, Finally Famous Vol. 3 And Why Blogs Can Be Bad For MC’s
Why re-release Finally Famous Vol 3: BIG?
People kept asking me for the tagless and then a lot DJs couldn’t play a lot of the songs because some don’t like playing stuff with other DJ’s tags on it. I did it for somewhat of a political reason, it’s just something to keep relevant in the streets. I’m a real street advocate. I believe you got to stay hot in the streets. I’m currently working on a project with [singer] Mike Posner as well.
How has signing to G.O.O.D. Music clashed, if at all, with your affinity for the streets?
Man, you just got to know how to balance everything. Kanye West is the biggest in the world, [so] people are waiting for what I have to offer. A lot of people think I can’t deliver on an album and I want to prove them wrong. There’s no manual on how to be a rapper, you just got to make your own way.
Is Finally Famous Vol 3: BIG the last one in the series?
That’s the last of the Finally Famous series, I wanted to do a three-part series. As of now, I still am gonna call my album Finally Famous with maybe a subtitle. I’m currently still working on it but really I’m trying to finish it this month and get it out as early as possible.
Are a lot of artists offering to collaborate on your debut album?
Yeah man, a lot of artists have been reaching out to me from Jadakiss, to Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj. It’s crazy and I’m definitely taking advantage of it. I do want my album to give a good sense of my artistry, I don’t want it to be full featured out.
In the past year you've worked with Drake and Chris Brown, describe those collaborations.
With Drake, we did that track "Made" and it was a real big song and that was supposed to be for the album but some di--head leaked it. I don’t know who it was. To them it’s getting hits on a blog, to us it’s our life. But it was a blessing in disguise because that record gave me a lot of notoriety. Chris Brown reached out to me and we got into the studio and made some magic with a few songs. We’re gonna be working on some more stuff together. He’s one of the realest Gs I’ve ever met.
Do you think the Internet and blogs are bad artists like yourself who are signed to a major?
I honestly feel like it’s more detrimental on a major level if you have a track you've planned for and you’re putting money behind it. With sponsorships, say Gatorade wanted to use ["Made"] as part of their campaign, it can affect [a deal] like that.
There are bunches of big labels like Roc Nation and Young Money, do you see those camps as competition or good for hip-hop?
I look at it as both. I feel like it’s a competition. I’m cool with everybody at Young Money. However, G.O.O.D. Music is the greatest team of all time. I say that in a sarcastic fun way but I do feel that way. If you don’t feel your team is the best, what the f--- you doing it for? I love Young Money, I love Maybach Music and I love Roc Nation. They all fam but let’s be real — G.O.O.D. Music is the team and we're going to show that in 2011.
Big Sean On Chris Brown, Finally Famous Vol. 3 And Why Blogs Can Be Bad For MC’s
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