A very key part of Big Sean's music is his rather unique flow. Before this album, it was often predictable, but on I Decided, Sean switches up flows more than ever, most likely as an attempt to distance his style from Drake. The two are often compared, and even though Drake himself said that Sean's flow inspired him, listeners to this album will undoubtedly notice the similarities.
The theme of this overall album impressed me immensly. Instead of using the cliche girls, drugs and money tropes as the backbone of his album (though these tropes do appear a few times), Sean explores mortality, rebirth, ambition, and family throughout the album. He does this through both songs and interludes on songs, and on the first track of the album, "Intro" an older, disappointed version of himself, played by the expressive J.R. Starr gets hit by a car and killed. In the next song, aptly named "The Light", he is reincarnated as the new, younger, more ambitious Big Sean. Though he's accompanied by Jeremih, who has one of the most annoying prepubescent voices I've ever heard, Big Sean shows through lyrics that he's back and more confident than ever. The older and younger Big Sean are what's shown on the cover of the album.
Lead single (other than "No More Interviews", which sadly didn't make it on the album), "Bounce Back", follows. Sadly, it doesn't quite follow the storyline from the first two songs; those come back in later songs. However, what it does give us is a great banger. Staying true to the title of the song, Sean's flow bounces all over the Metro Boomin production, with memorable lines in both the hook, "Last night took an L, but tonight I bounce back", and the verses, "My daddy a G, it's genetics". He drops those familiar ad-libs of "straight up" and "look" all over the track, and he really sounds amazing.
Next is "No Favors", by Eminem feat Big Sean. Well, that's not quite how it's credited, but that's just how it feels. Big Sean hops on the track to deliver yet another bold verse, with lines like "I don't write this sh*t, I think it my n*gga" and a great hook, but then basically leaves the rest up to his friend and fellow Detroit resident, Eminem, whose verse is certainly the focal point of the song (it certainly lasts long enough). As for the actual verse itself, it's not his best. Of course, it's super explicit, as Eminem has recently been going back to his darker roots. In the verse, he dedicates a large section to attacking Ann Coulter and Donald Trump; he also talks about Jamie Lee Curtis and Fergie. Overall, this verse seems like an attempt to stir up a lot of controversy, and I'm a bit disappointed, as this had so much potential. It's not particularly clever, innovative, or inspiring.
"Jump out the Window" is a love song to a girl that is Big Sean's friend in a different, abusive relationship, with lines like "Remember when you used to come through and hit the Mario Kart/ and you always picked the princess/ I realized you was princess back then". The production is really interesting, but unfortunately there are quite a few uncredited ad libs from Jeremih on this track, and you already know how I feel about him.
"Moves" is certainly an album highlight. With very similar distorted production to "Bounce Back", this track does everything that one does but in an even more charismatic way. It's just so extremely catchy, and though it's far too short, it's probably my favorite song on the album, tied with Voices in my Head/Stick to the Plan. Sean switches his style all the time on the track, just getting faster and faster as the track goes. It blows up and then has what I think is his best way flow on the whole album, with the "Okay okay okay, I'm on rodeo for the day" lines to the hook. The song ends a bit abruptly on the third verse, but it makes sense with the lyrics. The video to this single is also great, with dances that put hotline bling to shame, a really cool dark aesthetic, and Big Sean just shows that above all, he's finally able to fit into the mainstream hip hop scene.
"Same Time Part 1" (there's no part 2) is a bit weird. The whole song is basically just a gimmick. It features "Twenty88", which is really just a duo of Big Sean and his girlfriend, Jhene Aiko. For the majority of the song, Jhene is just singing at the same time as Big Sean; she has no parts of her own, and though her voice is really nice, them singing at the same time is just annoying. Thankfully, it's only a minute and a half long.
"Halfway Off the Balcony" is a very chill song, with no real highs to the song. It stays at a steady line of excitement for most of the song, with a bit of distortion and some interesting acapella in the instrumental. The song winds down into another peak at the older figure in Sean's story talking to him, revealing that maybe the wealth and glory described in this song came at a cost to him and his family.
Then comes "Voices in my Head/Stick to the Plan", which is everything that Halfway Off the Balcony is not and more. The first part of the song, Voices in my Head, reveals that Big Sean is giving into the critics, and following the general theme of the album, the negatives in his life, like addiction, thinking that he'll disappoint his parents. This section is downtempo and minimalistic, but as the production drops out, listeners are left with a sense of forboding. Then everything swoops back in, leading onto the second section, Stick to the Plan. Big Sean says the aforementioned section name many times, urging the listeners and himself to stay focused as that's the only way to get through life. This section goes hard while still reinforcing the point of the song. Finally, for the last, unofficial section, the doubts come back even more, as Big Sean raps faster than he does on the album at any other point, as he contemplates suicide, how meaningless life might be, and how the voices in his head might actually be able to help him get through the "middle of the ocean" that he feels that he's in. This song is what captures the meaning of the album more than any other, and is what made me really enjoy this album. It may be the best thing that Sean has done, and it certainly has the most meaning. In my opinion, it should've been the closer, but it's amazing regardless.
On that note, Sean drops the dark theme, and goes onto a theme of thanks and redemption. "Sunday Morning Jetback" and "Inspire Me" are about Sean's life and the people in it. The former song features The-Dream, and I'm not a big fan of it. It retells some of Big Sean's favorite memories in his life, but it's just a bit boring. At the end, there's finally another interlude, that details Sean moving past the regrets and doubts he has, with help from Older Sean's urging, he finally answers the phone to his mother. This flows in amazingly to "Inspire Me". Like the title coincidentally says, this seems to be inspired by "Hey Mama", from Sean's mentor, Kanye West. It's just an extremely sweet track about his mother, how much he loves her, and how much he owes to her. It shows the hard times that they went through together, and if this song can make me respect Sean's mom just from the lyrics, then it must be pretty effective. Though it's been done before by a few other rappers, it's always surprising to me how hip-hop artists can show this vulnerable and grateful side of themselves in their music.
"Sacrifices" starts with a tinny, light beat, but it soon kicks down to a great, drum heavy beat. Sean drops bar after bar of amazing flows and clever lyrics about how much he gave up to get where he is now.. The second verse is great as well, as he claims "I cut the f**k sh*t drama out my energy, focus on the inner me, never on the enemy". Then, Migos comes in, and they do pretty good. Even though some of the lyrics are a bit strange, like "The devil had entered my soul / my momma had to beat it out me". Sadly, Takeoff isn't on the track, but Quavo's verse is insanely catchy, while Offset does pretty average. Sean finally ends this song with some of his best bars on the album, as he relates himself to his ancestors "I know my great, great, great aunty was a slave/ I could only imagine all the sacrifice she made/ I could only imagine all the sh*t she had to take/ Imma make sure all the blood she gave wasn't in vain".
The closer, "Bigger Than Me", is basically a summation of all the themes on the album. He brings in the Flint Chozen Choir, which is a statement all in itself. He also brings in songwriter Starrah to help him with the hook, and with the three together, they work amazingly to make one of the best choruses/hooks on the album. Finally, the album ends with a long spoken word issue. It's the phone call discussed in earlier songs, the one that Sean was so hesitant to pick up. He talks to his mom about how she says that he's her second chance, and how he feels like he also got a second chance in life. Finally, the older Big Sean comes in for a few words, ending the album beautifully with "It's that simple. It's all about living in the moment. Period." It's touching and completely unexpected, and ties the themes together extremely well.
Overall, I'm impressed by this album. Impressed by how catchy it is, impressed by the thematic elements incorporated in it, and impressed by how much Sean has improved. This is definitely his best album thus far. He's matured so much, from doing club song after club song to dealing with themes like mortality. I'm excited to see where he goes from here.
Final Verdict:
85/100
Best Tracks:
Moves, Voices in my Head/Stick to the Plan, Bounce Back, Sacrifices
Worst Tracks:
Sunday Morning Jetpack
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