Review: "Detroit 2" Album by Big Sean
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“Detroit 2” is symbolic of Big Sean’s long musical journey towards adulthood over the past decade. His past works (though just as fire) felt more adolescent. A youthful perspective that still had some more wisdom to gain. Just like the other albums, there’s a wordy stream of consciousness in every track that covers all the puzzle parts in the Big Sean autobiography.
Here, Sean is a deity in his own universe, and he’s pretty much perfect the art of the humble-brag. The intro track “Why Would I Stop?” is a cocky and relentless answer to his own question. From the first few lines alone, we can tell that he’s been working on his ever-evolving vocabulary, and we’re hype about it. That vocab stands up against a glitchy and bassy trap beat - the production on practically every song is flawless, and stitches a story when strung together. By the end of the first track, it’s clear that his serpent tongued metaphors and messages for the haters have improved vastly since IDFWU.
“Lucky Me” reveals health issues discovered at a young age, and unexpected solutions he found, like Eastern medicine. This track has more of an old school beat, but around 2:10, he switches up the flow, the key and the whole vibe of the track, speeding it up with a quick delivery that Twista would be proud of.
“Deep Reverence” ft. Nipsey Hussle is a haunted time capsule that does the late rapper justice and explored how Sean dealt with the aftermath and the hate that’s bred from nothing in his own community. He reflects, “After what happened to Nipsey, I reached out to Kendrick / It wasn’t even no real issues there to begin with / Lack of communication and wrong information from people fuelled by their ego.” He also tackles the mental health struggle for Black men with “In high school, I learned chemistry, biology/But not how to cope with anxiety” This line, along with the others that explore Eastern philosophy and spirituality, show dimensions of Big Sean in a light that African-American men in rap aren’t usually portrayed in.
Baby-maker track “Body Language” lightens things up, in a combo hip hop and bedroom track that gets even steamier when bae Jhene Aiko starts to croon, followed up by a syrupy Ty Dolla $ign chorus. It’s a dedication to the naughty queens who want some “Body to body, cheek to cheek, soulful moaning” but it’s equally a dedication.
On of our favorites track was “Harder Than my Demons,” the #blackboyjoy masterpiece which he dropped as the album’s first single, and is filled with more of the rapper’s dizzying metaphors and rhyme patterns.. Prioritizing positive vibes and self care, this anthem is also a triumph above his mental health struggles, or inner demons. If you put in the work like Sean, you can too.
Like many of the songs on this album, it’s a fast track at 2:21 minutes, but we wouldn’t call it short - this man can fit a lot of words into a tiny time frame. He manages to chill out a bit with “ZTFO,” where he drawls, “laid across the couch I’m zen the fuck out,” doling out advice to not feed comparisons, or worry what others think about your life.
As he ruminates on the lessons he’s learned over the years, he plays with genres. “Guard your Heart” is a departure from the heavy hitting hip hop production and explores a more soulful vibe, while “Lithuania” experiments with indie percussion, warped guitar, and a rock n’ roll feel.
In glimpses of tracks, we learn about the artist’s childhood, aversion to Western medicine, and spirituality, among other things, as he navigates life through his third and fourth eye. It doesn’t fit the template of formulaic rap albums nowadays, with seemingly conflicting aspects that merge harmoniously. We don’t know if it’s Aiko’s influence or that CBD he’s writing about, but “Detroit 2” proves that 2020 really is is Big Sean’s year.