Throughout his rap career, Big Sean has largely been overlooked. With the release of his fourth studio album, I Decided., he looks to assert his place as one of the best.
I Decided. is the follow-up to Big Sean’s 2015 project Dark Sky Paradise, which saw him begin to stray from the style of music that he used on past albums like 2011’s Finally Famous.
If Dark Sky Paradise was Big Sean’s attempt to break away from his older style, I Decided. is him mastering the style he is trying to use now — the one that he began experimenting with on Paradise. Big Sean has always excelled at creating club and party hits — listen to almost any song off Finally Famous for proof of this — but I Decided. is new and different and will leave fans pleasantly surprised.
The album shows Big Sean improving on his flow to better fit the songs’ production. The album isn’t all new though. The rapper does stay true to elements of his old music, such as the heavy trap beats from “Bounce Back” and memorable lyrics like “Forward thinking yeah my mind is ahead of me,” from “Sacrifices” featuring Migos.
I Decided. makes listeners think, unlike Big Sean’s previous work. On his newest album, he raps about rebirth and being given second chances. At the end of the song “Intro,” the speaker gets hit by a car. This flows into the beginning of “Light,” where Big Sean raps about trying to find the “light that’s at the end of the tunnel” and reinforces the theme of afterlife and rebirth.
Big Sean also uses I Decided. to take a stance on multiple issues our society is facing today. On the album, he raps about police brutality and racism among other things. The song “No Favors” features an Eminem verse that calls out President Trump and political commentator Ann Coulter. Eminem’s verse overshadows Big Sean’s to a certain extent, something Big Sean has struggled with in the past.
Outside political commentary, the rapper also delivers a touching tribute to his family on the song “Sunday Morning Jetpack.”
Longtime fans will appreciate the hard-hitting lyrics on songs such as “Moves” and “Sacrifices,” and fans of good music will appreciate the production quality and the way it matches the flow of Big Sean’s verses on tracks like “Jump Out The Window” and “Halfway Off The Balcony.”
More than anything though, this album will speak to people who believe in second chances, something Big Sean himself talks about on “Light” and “No Favors.”
In the past, Big Sean has taken a back seat to his featured artists; but on I Decided., he excels as the shot caller. With his fourth studio album, Big Sean took a legitimate step toward becoming a force to be reckoned with in the rap game.
3/4 Shells
