This new Big Sean album has been in the pipeline for several months but due to COVID-19 it’s release was pushed back to September. The album is a reflection of the growing importance of the Californian in the American rap scene over the past ten years. As its name suggests, Detroit 2 (following his 2012 mixtape, Detroit) is a tribute to the city and its history. Big Sean kindly invites three inspirational artists, namely Erykah Badu, David Chappelle and none other than Stevie Wonder, to declare their love for the Motor City in delightful spoken interludes. These interludes intersperse a tracklist with featuring artists that would make any rapper in the industry green with envy.
Big Sean doesn’t have a remarkable voice. It’s through his lyrics, his concepts and his skill of wordplay, used wisely here, that he stands out. This skill is particularly apparent on the awesome tracks Lucky Me and Lithuania (featuring Travis Scott) and is the perfect complement to the cooler sounds of ZFTO and The Baddest (which samples the famous soundtrack from the Godzilla films). The album’s single, Deep Reverence, is a collaboration with the late Nipsey Hussle and shows that Big Sean is more at ease with more positive songs, like the superb and sensual Body Language (featuring Ty Dolla $ign and Jhéné Aiko). But that’s a good thing because Detroit 2 is full of them. © Brice Miclet/Qobuz