REVIEW: Big Sean – ‘Dark Sky Paradise’

Hip-hop has always had the greats, the has-beens, the wannabes, and then Big Sean. With Dark Sky Paradise, Sean’s arrival at the cusp of hip-hop royalty is imminent, although it is hard to take an artist like him seriously considering his ass-laden lyrics and penchant for crashing into unexpected hits. It must be the presence of the maniacal genius that is Kanye West or his current belle Ariana Grande and various other A-list collaborators that has Dark Sky Paradise screaming maturity in otherwise what is mostly Big Sean’s asinine list of rap records.

Dark Sky Paradise is a documentation of Sean’s journey through the trials and tribulations he’s been in since his previous record, ‘Hall Of Fame’. With some assistance from Kanye West, T-Minus, DJ Dahi, Mike WiLL Made-It, Key Wane, and Vinylz, a much more slick production makes Sean’s latest his best since his debut. Starting with ‘Dark Sky (Skyscrapers)’, Sean’s flow and lyrics undergo a very educated and heavily mentored transformation with all his talk about weathering troubles to make it to the top. On Blessings, Big Sean raps his way through the track with some assistance from Drake about all the good things that have happened to him since his last record. “At the top of the rap game and progressin’/Check after check, checkin’ off my checklist,” raps Sean in his I-know-where-I-am-right-now tone of voice, announcing that he is now worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as some of his contemporaries.

All Your Fault sees Sean pair up with West for an excellent collaboration between the mentor and his unannounced protégé, making for one of the album’s must-listen tracks. Using the remnants of their earlier collaboration ‘Marvin & Chardonnay’ from Sean’s debut album, the track has a soul sample over drums, hooks and bridges. Each of the rappers have their own verses punctuated by the hook, but it’s the wordplay between them on the third verse a.k.a ‘Watch The Throne’ style, something personally arranged by Kanye no doubt that captures the listener’s attention. For Sean, this track could have meant that he genuinely wanted to give back to hip-hop, but it’s Kanye’s genius that steals that stellar moment and reduces Sean’s own presence to a feature on the track instead of the other way around.

Chris Brown & Ty Dolla $ign feature on the next track with Big Sean over a borrowed sample from 1988’s ‘Piece of My Love’, produced by Key Wane, one of Sean’s longtime producers. Brown’s signature vocals get a synth treatment, while Ty Dolla $ign adds some soul, an unnecessary addition in my opinion, but may have been added for finesse.

Naya Rivera, Big Sean’s ex and the bullet he dodged, is the subject of the first record he announced after signing with Jay-Z’s management and he’s not alone on it. With a production assist from Kanye West, E-40’s sick flow and intelligence oozing out of Big Sean for the first time, this diss track makes for Sean’s first listenable track from start to finish in a very long time.

If there’s anything that says Big Sean is here to stay, it is the album’s namesake, ‘Paradise’ .The extended version of Mike WiLL Made-It’s Paradise makes it from the mixtape to the album and the honks on the track constantly remind you of the elasticity in the rapper’s voice. Tight bars spat over a very moody backdrop give it a vibe that’s distinctly Big Sean.

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‘I Know’ (feat. Jhené Aiko) is ‘Get Lucky’ without the intelligent use of euphemisms for sex. It’s in your face, you-can-have-it-if-you-want-it-I’m-not-shy-about-it sex, with the very feathery Aiko trading vocal verses with Sean’s sexed up rap. Although the innuendos aren’t hidden very well, the best one comes from Aiko who coos, “Take a load off on my private island/Come inside and go into hiding”, as she leads the track to a harmonious end in the third verse with her silken voice adding lightness to Sean baritone rap voice.

Kanye West and Lil Wayne are truly the star collaborators/producers on this album and it must be their shine that seems to have rubbed off on Sean. On Deep, a contemplative Sean gets schooled by Young Money’s enfant terrible, Lil Wayne as his engineered voice brings the bars to life and he leaves Sean with some of his street-smart wisdom preaching, “Well let me throw up mine and also let me show this vision of mine/Fuck the finish line, just finish in lines/And if getting your point across crosses the line/Some of the time, then cross it with pride/That’s real my nigga, remember that/And ain’t nobody if they remember you they remember rap/So just spit it back and hope somebody diggin’ that/’Cause this shit is deep, deep”.

Label mates John Legend and Kanye West join Sean on the phenomenal One Man Can Change the World. West voices the hook with Legend on the piano after Sean raps and sings his way through the first verse. A lot of soul and hard work went into the song which is an ode to his grandmother, especially when she was an unsung heroine and a major influence in his life. A whole verse is dedicated to her and perhaps is the realest, heartfelt and emotionally strong rap verse written by Sean throughout his short mainstream career to. Sean steps down from the pedestal to give Legend a chance, which I must say he kills, to add some of his charismatic soul and bring the song to an end that tugs at the heartstrings with his grandma’s acknowledgement – a simple and non-preachy way of saying I love you.

‘Deserve It’ (feat. PARTYNEXTDOOR) is a pop/rap combo that works well with Sean’s lackadaisical voice and the OVO crooner’s hook. Sean’s obsession with Naya takes a new turn with the rapper enlisting his pint-sized, sultry-voiced girlfriend Grande on Research, forgettable to say the least while Platinum and Wood brings the album to an end. The final track samples ‘The Street Lordz’s Come Roll With A Nigga’ and showcases Sean flexibility and elastic voice to perfection.

Despite some excellent tracks, Sean makes cardinal mistakes on each of those stellar songs by giving his features the right to bulldoze over his work. Kanye, Wayne and Legend take the best parts of their features and make it better, while Sean’s remains dull and accompanying in comparison to his features with Brown and Drake. What Sean needs to learn is how to recognise his own voice and make it better than it already is. He’s got West and Wayne to teach him that, but what he really needs is to avoid giving the best parts to the others and reserving it for himself, just so that prophecy by West is fulfilled.