Big Sean - Detroit 2: Review
Throughout his career, Big Sean’s nasally voice and underwhelming lyrical structure has always been a deterrent for most of his work. He has had moments where he sidestepped the fame and turned it up a notch on mixtapes here and there.
His ceiling was there and it is reliant on his chameleon flows, which is predominantly heard on his new album Detroit 2. It’s mix of introspective and thought provoking lyricism implores more than the thin barrier on top and typical pop hits that go a little bit above the mundane.
When Big Sean became famous some of his vernacular took a step back and he was loosely showing his strengths. His singles felt lowly and dumbed down; it became a deterrent, until he started talking about darker and deeper themes. Eventually his work would become more consistent as the industry wasn’t holding artists as back anymore. That is what’s mostly heard on Detroit 2 as Sean seems to breathe more freely.
Detroit 2 breaks apart a lot of the last few years of his life in his rhymes, with illustrious wording and mood setting ease. Whether incorporating it to tracks focused on accessibility or the strong solo efforts one this is for certain; Big Sean has finally shown us at his most mature.
“Lucky Me,” and “Wolves,” contrast Big Sean’s strengths working together. The former has Big Sean talking about all the problems he faced and ideas on the corruption in the health industry. The beat switches mid-way and Big Sean’s flow switches as he tells us about the person it made him. Both flows contrast as he goes from slow to fast without skipping a heart beat. The latter takes the lean and fast approach; there is a rap-rock-esque hook from Post Malone that boosts it to a major hitter. It continues to solidify Sean as one of the greats and more underrated rappers of his generation.
Detroit 2’s length is intimidating at first and slightly daunting once you close out on “Friday Night Cypher.” Capping at 72 minutes, the album more than exceeds its welcome on time. Shaveable tracks are a mix bag between good and bad, as they feel out of place or label requirements. Like the predictable and simple “Lithuania,” or the smooth and eloquent “Time In,” that feels off from the moody and bombastic album.
The sultry undercuts that fall smoothly on your lap in “Body Language.” The sexy low-tempo vocals and harmonizations from Ty $ elevate it higher. It’s a good distraction from his religious and anti-vax views due to his upbringing. It can be brushed off as the song in question is a fiery and angry track about the ideologies that he feels power over the strengths of his demons. There is a lot to take of a merritt from Detroit 2 and it works to his benefit.
Detroit 2’s consistency is awe inspired and is its defining feature. Previous tapes were always all over the place and self inflated with raunch ego. It has a lot going for it that brings out the best in Big Sean. He’s had flashes throughout the years, especially with the globetrotting predecessor in the hip hop zeitgeist.
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