Detroit native Sean Michael Anderson, better known as Big Sean, released his third studio album “Dark Sky Paradise” Tuesday. The rapper has made a complete turn-around since his split with former fiancé Naya Rivera and from his last two albums, which did not do as well as the public expected.
The album, “Dark Sky Paradise,” consists of hot tracks such as “Play No Games,” “Blessings,” “Stay Down,” “I Know” and the recently popular, “I Don’t F–k With You.”
John Kennedy, a writer for Billboard magazine, gave the album four out of five stars and had some positive things to say. He, as well as many other fans, seems to think this album was exactly what Big Sean needed to redeem himself.
“The opening track, ‘Dark Sky,’ sets the tone for the rest of the album. Big Sean hops on a sparse Boi-1da instrumental to shake off mooches, reflect on his hard work and the fruits it has afforded him,” Kennedy said. “Reflection, diligence, decadence, the chip-on-his-shoulder mentality — they’re all constant themes throughout the LP.”
Big Sean’s first official single on the album, “Blessings,” features big name artists Drake and Kanye West. In this song Big Sean proclaims everything that he is grateful for including his music career, family and friends. Drake and Big Sean team up for the catchy hook, “I’m way up, I feel blessed.” West comes in during the last verse of the song with lyrics, “Just did a couple laps in my home pool/ And my daughter right there getting home schooled/ I’m blessed.”
Big Sean got fans singing along to his infamous break-up song allegedly about former fiancé Naya Rivera of “Glee” when it released as a single in September last year. It is the perfect song to blast after a bad breakup.
Kennedy described it perfectly, “’I Don’t F–k With You’ is the type of record that could have emerged from a Friday night dorm room hangout in which a group of six friends smoked like 1,000 blunts and drank 80 PBRs each. Yet alas, with the elastic synchs of DJ Mustard’s most soulful beat, E-40’s signature lingo and D.J. Rogers ‘Say You Love Me, One More Time’ sample (flipped by co-producers DJ Dahi and West), Big Sean’s petty party becomes a contagious anthem to dedicate to fake friends and bitter ex-lovers: “Every day I wake up celebratin’, why?/ ‘Cause I just dodged a bullet from a crazy chick,” he said.
This showcases Big Sean’s depths as an artist, and it is a big step forward from almost two years ago when people barely knew who he was. With the release of his latest “Dark Sky Paradise,” it is safe to assume the future of his musical career is bright.
