ARTIST: Big Sean
ALBUM: Hall of Fame
LABEL: Def Jam
RELEASE DATE: August 27, 2013
Taking Control
Written by Jeremy Weeden
G.O.O.D. Music rapper Big Sean returns to the scene with Hall of Fame, the follow-up to his first album, Finally Famous. Big Sean has been in the news lately due to the fervor around Kendrick Lamar’s verse on Big Sean’s unreleased song “Control”, which could not be included on Hall of Fame due to licensing issues. Lost in all of the talk about Kendrick was how good Big Sean’s verse was as well. Beginning with his verse on the Good Music Posse cut “Mercy,” Big Sean has seemingly laid down a fire verse on most of his appearances. His verse on “Control” was a continuation of this and paves the way for Hall of Fame.
The album starts with the melodic autobiographical track “Nothing Is Stopping You.” This song highlights a little of what Big Sean went through while following his dreams to become a rapper. Produced by longtime collaborator Key Wane, “Nothing Is Stopping You” has a nice mellow vibe and is an excellent track to start the album off with. The next track on the album is the single “Fire” which is more known for the video starring Miley Cyrus than the actual song. The video features Miley dancing and, especially in light of her recent actions at the VMAs, she is all anyone will probably think of when hearing this song.
The album gets back on track with the No I.D. produced “10 2 10” a tribute to all the hard work Big Sean puts in while constantly on his grind. The chorus goes, “I woke up working like I’m Mexican/That mean I work from 10 to 10/Then 10 to 10/Then 10 again/Nightmares of losing everything boost my adrenaline.”
“You Don’t Know” features pop sensation Elle Goulding but does not come off as pop rap. This radio friendly track produced by No I.D. is a rock tinged song that one could easily see being played early and often on the airwaves. The next track is Big Sean’s current single “Beware” featuring the increasingly popular Jhene Aiko, who can also be found on Drake’s upcoming album. This likable tune also features Young Money boss Lil Wayne as he and Big Sean warn of the dangers of a girl with a broken heart.
“First Chain” features hip-hop legend Nas and Kid Cudi as all three rap about the first chain they got from rap. Big Sean more than holds his own despite going up against a legend with lines like “Coming from a city where bullets turn bros into souls/Who knew from that concrete that a rose had arose/Good girls stopped being good when I turned em into hoes/Dreams stopped being dreams when I turned em into goals.”
“MILF” features Nikki Minaj and she and Big Sean do a little role-playing. Big Sean raps from the perspective of a man dating an older woman with kids who hate him. Nikki Minaj raps like the older woman with the kids. Juicy J is also featured on the song and simply raps from the perspective of Juicy J: “High as a motherfucker/Fuckin everybody mama.”
“All Figured Out” is one of the standout tracks on the album as Big Sean raps about not having it all figured out. The song features 2 excellent verses and then the last verse is spoken word from Big Sean. This song shows that there is depth to Big Sean as he recites lines like, “Today I woke up and realized every day gets shorter/Every minute turns into the longest second, yet never ending/Age is nothing but a reminder and it doesn’t tell you how old or young minded someone is/Cause we all start at the same starting point of a woman’s legs/But each have our own finish line.”
Ultimately, Hall of Fame is a good album filled with catchy radio friendly songs. With an eclectic selection of beats and guest appearances from James Fauntleroy to 2 Chainz, Big Sean is certain to stay famous for a long time.