Christians Don’t Even Get This Cross

Big Sean “Outro”

I wasn’t a fan of Big Sean in his “appearing as a featured artist on random songs” period, in part because he seemed rather bland to me. Not bad or anything, just like a guy who showed up to the studio like “hi, I’m here to do the rapping.” My estimation of him changed a lot when “I Don’t Fuck with You” came out last year – it’s just an undeniably great song with terrific production and a vocal performance by Sean that’s both emotional and clever in its delivery. There’s a cartoonish quality to his voice that came through in that, and I think it carries through to most of his debut, Dark Sky Paradise.

I really like him on “Outro,” which is basically the requisite song on a rapper’s major label debut where he talks about how cool his life is now that he’s got money, but also how there’s a lot of petty annoyances because he’s got to seem honest and real. I know it sounds cynical to put it that way, but don’t get me wrong – I genuinely love that trope and Big Sean has a great spin on it. His lyrics are solid, but I think this song mainly gets by on charm. He never sounds whiney, just like a guy who’s shrugging off the complications while keeping his head focused on the important stuff – his rhymes, his beats, his girl, feeling grateful for making it work.

Buy it from Amazon.