His debut album, Finally Famous, was released in June 2011 and featured guest appearances from hip hop superstars Kanye West, Chris Brown, Pharrell Williams, The-Dream, Wiz Khalifa, and Lupe Fiasco.
He was raised by his mother and grandparents who worked steadfastly to instill in him the principles of hard work and determination. Sean attended the Detroit Waldorf School, a school of art, from Kindergarten to 8th Grade where he was in 102.7FM, a local radio station in Detroit where he displayed his rhyming skills weekly. There, he met Kanye West after a radio interview in 2005 and got a chance to display his talent by freestyling for Mr. West, giving him a copy of his music and sending numerous tracks for him to critique. After months of submitting songs and numerous meetings, Sean finally got a call from Kanye West himself saying that he wanted to sign him. Two years later, West signed Big Sean to GOOD Music. Sean has cited West, Eminem, The Notorious B.I.G., and J Dilla as his influences.
On September 30, 2007, Big Sean released his first official mixtape Finally Famous: The Mixtape. His hit single, "Get'cha Some", produced by WrighTrax, attained media attention and led to articles in The Source and the Detroit Metro Times. He also recorded a music video for "Get'cha Some", which was directed by Hype Williams. Sean released a second mixtape hosted by Mick Boogie on April 16, 2009, called UKNOWBIGSEAN. It featured the songs "Million Dollars", "Get'cha Some" and "Supa Dupa". This mixtape includes 30 tracks. Sean released a third mixtape hosted by Don Cannon on August 31, 2010, called Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG, which features include major artists like Bun B, Chip tha Ripper, Curren$y, Tyga, Drake, Mike Posner, Chuck Inglish, Asher Roth, Dom Kennedy, and Chiddy Bang. The mixtape includes 20 tracks.
Finally Famous, Sean's debut studio album, was released June 28, 2011, and spawned three hit singles; "My Last", "Marvin & Chardonnay" and "Dance (Ass)". The album featured guest appearances from Lupe Fiasco, John Legend, Pharrell, Kanye West, Roscoe Dash, Wiz Khalifa, Chiddy Bang, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, Pusha T, and included production from No I.D., The Legendary Traxster, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Xaphoon Jones and The Neptunes. When the songs "O.T.T.R." and "Flowers" were leaked in July 2011, speculation began of a new mixtape. Sean confirmed in an interview on June 28, 2011, that a collaborative mixtape between him and "two other guys in hip-hop that are just killing it right now" will be released "in a couple of weeks". Wiz Khalifa and Curren$y were the suspected featured rappers on the mixtape. However, Wiz Khalifa later confirmed that there would be no mixtape, claiming that the songs were created, "just for fun".
In September 2011, Big Sean confirmed in an interview with the Daily Tribune that he'll be working on his second album during the I Am Finally Famous Tour and plans to release the album sometime in 2012. On October 19, 2011, Kanye West announced on his Twitter plans for a Spring 2012 GOOD Music album release. On April 6, 2012, "Mercy", the lead single from the GOOD Music compilation album, Cruel Summer, was released. The song, produced by newly signed in-house producer Lifted, features Big Sean along with Kanye West, Pusha T, and southern rapper 2 Chainz. Big Sean then announced his fourth mixtape would be titled "Detroit" and would serve as a lead-in to his second studio album. He then began promoting the mixtape, releasing short versions of the songs on his YouTube page. On September 5, 2012, Big Sean released the mixtape Detroit which features guest appearances from fellow rappers J. Cole, Juicy J, King Chip, French Montana, Royce da 5'9", Kendrick Lamar, and Tyga.
Big Sean pushed back the release date of his second studio album Hall of Fame which was eventually released on August 27, 2013. The album has skits to give it a "classic feel", and includes features from multiple artists, including Lil Wayne, Miguel, and Nas. The album's production was primarily handled by No I.D., and Key Wane along with additional production from Hit-Boy, Da Internz, Mike Dean, Travis Scott, Xaphoon Jones, and Young Chop among others. Big Sean also stated in an interview that he was in the studio with fellow Detroit native Eminem. Sean went on to say they made a "Detroit classic" but he is unsure if it will be on Hall of Fame because of "timing issues". Hall of Fame spawned five singles, "Guap", "Switch Up" featuring Common, "Beware" featuring Jhené Aiko and Lil Wayne, "Fire", and "Ashley" featuring Miguel.
A month prior to the release of Hall of Fame, Big Sean told Complex that he had already begun work on his third album due to the inspiration from his new relationship. On September 12, 2014, Big Sean announced that he had signed a management deal with Roc Nation. Later that same day he released four new songs titled, "I Don't Fuck with You", "Paradise", "4th Quarter" and "Jit/Juke". Producers for these songs include, Mike Will Made It, DJ Mustard, Kanye West, DJ Dahi, Nate Fox, Da Internz, L&F, and Key Wane. "I Don't Fuck with You" was released to iTunes on September 19, 2014. In an interview with Sway Calloway, Sean confirmed that Lil Wayne will be featured on the album.
In May 2012, Big Sean founded a nonprofit organization called the “Sean Anderson Foundation,” with the aim of helping underserved children and families in Detroit. Alongside direct donations to local institutions, primarily educational institutions, the foundation has created fundraising programs and partnered with other organizations. In 2016, the foundation launched #HealFlintKids to raise money for the Community Foundation of Greater Flint amid the Flint water crisis - the program raised $100,000.
In 2015, the foundation launched Mogul Prep, which partnered high school students with music industry professionals. During the same year, the foundation donated a recording studio for students at Big Sean's alma mater, Cass Technical High School. Beginning in 2018, the foundation has hosted an annual weekend festival, called D.O.N. Weekend, with free events and performances for Detroit residents and usually by Detroit artists. In December 2018, Big Sean in partnership with Ally Financial, Thurgood Marshall College Fund & the Sean Anderson Foundation, created an annual scholarship competition for HBCU students called “Moguls in the Making.”
On March 25, 2016, Big Sean released a track to celebrate his 28th birthday, "Get My Shit Together". Two days later he announced a self-titled album with Jhené Aiko, Twenty88, scheduled to be released on April 1, 2016, exclusively on Tidal. The album was released on April 5, 2016, on Apple Music and Spotify. A week after the exclusive release of Twenty88 on Tidal, Big Sean and Aiko released a 15-minute short film called Out of Love, which is composed of several recordings from the album. Around the same month, upon the wake of the Flint water crisis, Big Sean tweeted to the city's official Twitter account, asking if he could do anything to help, and later on donated $10,000.
On October 31, 2016, Big Sean released "Bounce Back" as the lead single from his fourth studio album, I Decided, which was released on February 3, 2017. "Moves" was released as an instant-great on December 16, 2016. Sean consulted the advice of Jay Z and Rick Rubin while working on the album. Big Sean achieved his second number-one album on the Billboard 200 chart, as I Decided debuted at the top. It earned 151,000 equivalent album units in the week of February 9, according to Nielsen Music. 65,000 of the amount was in pure album sales. As of April 18, 2017, I Decided was certified gold.
Two months after the release of I Decided, Big Sean was offered the official Key to the City of Detroit for his contribution to his own Sean Anderson foundation.
On November 3, 2017, Sean and Metro Boomin released the single "Pull Up N Wreck", featuring 21 Savage. A month later, it was announced that Sean and Metro were to release a collaborative album titled Double or Nothing. The album was released on December 8, 2017, and included features from Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, 21 Savage, Kash Doll, Young Thug, and Swae Lee, and included the single "Pull Up N Wreck".
On July 24, 2019, Big Sean released his first solo single since 2017 titled "Overtime", produced by Hit-Boy, Key Wane, and the Tucker Brothers. In an interview with Beats 1 Radio, Sean said he was "returning to his roots" with the single ahead of his forthcoming album. On July 26, he released the song "Single Again", which includes background vocals from Jhené Aiko and Ty Dolla Sign. On August 26, he released the single "Bezerk" featuring ASAP Ferg, performing it at the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards.
On March 25 (Big Sean's 32nd birthday), he announced that his new record would be titled Detroit 2. On August 25, he released the album's lead single, "Deep Reverence", featuring late rapper Nipsey Hussle. Detroit 2 was released on September 4, 2020, and features collaborations with Eminem, Jhené Aiko, and Lil Wayne. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, marking his third number-one album.
On September 17, 2020, Big Sean revealed in a Reddit AMA that another Twenty88 album is "in the works". A track attributed to the project appeared on Detroit 2. He has also announced that he plans on launching his own record label. On October 29, 2021, Big Sean announced on Twitter that after 14 years, he has stepped away from Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label, saying "That's a forever brotherhood, but business-wise, I had to start getting a bigger cut! I worked my way out that deal." West also claimed during a November 2021 Drink Champs podcast that signing Sean was the 'worst decision' of his entire career.
Starting in 2020, Big Sean has appeared in the Showtime series 'Twenties' in a recurring role as Trsitan, an anti-social media character who learns the value of online connection. In October 2021, Big Sean, in collaboration with rapper and producer Hit-Boy released an EP entitled What You Expect.
In February 2022, Big Sean and singer Queen Naija released a single entitled "Hate Our Love". The song will appear on Naija's upcoming album. In that same month, Big Sean confirmed the Twenty88 album and revealed that the album would include a collaboration with his then-girlfriend, Jhené Aiko. In September 2022, Big Sean re-released Detroit to streaming platforms, in honor of its 10th anniversary.
In 2019, the foundation partnered with Boys & Girls Club of Southeastern Michigan, donating a second $100,000 recording studio to the club during that year's D.O.N. Weekend. Since 2012, the foundation has participated in the annual All-Star Giveback on Thanksgiving, where it distributes turkeys, trimming, and canned goods to Detroit residents.
In May 2021, Big Sean, via his Sean Anderson Foundation, released a video series on wellness and mental health. The series was released during Mental Health Awareness Month and featured a conversation between Big Sean and his mother, educator Myra Anderson, about the intersection between wellness and mental health, including topics like meditation, sleep, and emotional freedom techniques.
Owe Me
Big Sean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The smile on your face the only thing I can't read
Left and now you back inside my life
It's gon' take more than that to set it right, though
'Cause you so fucking outta line
Forever letting them taste what's mine
Taste what's mine
Taste what's mine
Feel like you owe me checks
Owe me time, owe me sex
Long nights, no reply
I got no regrets, you disrespect, disrespect
Only time I seen you now is on the internet
Just to see if it's somebody else that you tied to
I hit you back when I decide to
You got my tattoo, we was tribal
Then you left and we turned rivals
Now you back, it's our revival
They don't make you feel like I do
They didn't make you perform for me
You was my American Idol how you rocked the mic
Man, we went from long text, now they shorter than a haiku
Seems like all you got is hate for me
All you ever did was take from me
'Cause you know you got that walk from me
How you dress and how you talk from me
Let's not ever disrespect what I meant to ya
It took us being over to see all I did for ya
Damn
All that shit you told me, I believed
The smile on your face the only thing I can't read
Left and now you back inside my life
It's gonna take more than that to set it right, though
'Cause you so fucking outta line
Forever letting them taste what's mine
Taste what's mine
Taste what's mine
You so fucking outta line
I'm just trying to let the past pass
Ain't no future in that, yeah
I stay 100 like my dash, yeah
Have you cummin' faster than The Flash, yeah
Is it all mine, all mine? You know me, I had to ask
Can I hit it like I crash? Sipping pinot by the glass
Honestly I had to take the time to let my ego go
Realized that that held us back and back's not where we need to go
This don't replace what you did to me
This don't replace what I did to you
Sometimes it ain't about what we did or didn't do
It's about what we getting through
Look, I'm not tryna play no blame game
Pointing fingers while we skip the point
Knowing that we both on the same thing
Riding for each other even if we gotta change lanes
If we don't work it out, shame shame
I can't touch these hoes I can't trust
I don't wanna have a fake us
But all that shit you told me, I believed
The smile on your face the only thing I can't read
Left and now you back inside my life
It's gon' take more than that to set it right, though
'Cause you so fucking outta line
Forever letting them taste what's mine
Taste what's mine
Taste what's mine
You so fucking outta line
My friends say I should be over you
Getting hurt every time I'm close to you
I think me and you are overdue
I think this is what we supposed to do
'Cause you so fucking outta line
Forever letting them taste what's mine
Taste what's mine
Taste what's mine
You so fucking outta line
In "Owe Me," Big Sean expresses his feelings towards a former lover who left him feeling betrayed yet has now come back into his life. He acknowledges that he once trusted this person despite their mistreatment, and now that they are trying to come back, it will take more than an apology to mend things. The rapper is honest and frank about his expectations, as he feels slighted by this person but is open to giving them another chance. Big Sean is not afraid to call out his former lover's selfish behavior, mentioning the times when they disrespected him, and indirectly referring to some of the benefits they gained from being with him. He states that he might not be able to trust them entirely again because their previous actions have caused damage to their past relationship, but he implies that he is willing to work things out with them.
Furthermore, throughout the song, Big Sean emphasizes the idea that he is no longer the same as he was during their previous relationship, and that he has grown to be someone who values respect, honesty, and trust more than anything else. He is not interested in playing the blame game with his former lover because deep down, he knows that they are both responsible for the downfall of their relationship. All he cares about is moving forward and attaining their shared goals, even if it means they will have to make some significant changes to achieve them. The rapper closes the song by expressing his belief that he and his ex-lover are meant to be together despite their unresolved issues.
Line by Line Meaning
All that shit you told me, I believed
I trusted every word you said.
The smile on your face the only thing I can't read
I can't tell if you're genuine or not just by looking at you.
Left and now you back inside my life
You left me before, but now you're trying to come back.
It's gon' take more than that to set it right, though
Just coming back isn't enough to fix things between us.
'Cause you so fucking outta line
You're crossing boundaries and behaving inappropriately.
Forever letting them taste what's mine
You keep letting other people experience something that's supposed to be exclusively mine.
Taste what's mine
You keep letting other people touch, taste, or experience something that's supposed to be exclusively mine.
Taste what's mine
You keep letting other people touch, taste, or experience something that's supposed to be exclusively mine.
You so fucking outta line
You're crossing boundaries and behaving inappropriately.
Feel like you owe me checks
You owe me financially.
Owe me time, owe me sex
You owe me time and sexual intimacy.
Long nights, no reply
I spent long nights waiting for you, but you didn't respond to me.
I got no regrets, you disrespect, disrespect
I don't regret being with you, but you disrespected me multiple times.
Only time I seen you now is on the internet
The only time I see you now is on social media.
Just to see if it's somebody else that you tied to
I check your social media to see if you're involved with someone else.
I hit you back when I decide to
I'll only respond to you when I'm ready.
You got my tattoo, we was tribal
We got matching tattoos to show our connection.
Then you left and we turned rivals
After you left, we became enemies.
Now you back, it's our revival
Now that you're back, it feels like we're reviving our relationship.
They don't make you feel like I do
No one can make you feel the way I do.
They didn't make you perform for me
No one else made you do things for me the way you did.
You was my American Idol how you rocked the mic
You were my idol, the way you performed was amazing.
Man, we went from long text, now they shorter than a haiku
We used to have long conversations, but now they're short.
Seems like all you got is hate for me
It seems like all you feel towards me now is hatred.
All you ever did was take from me
All you did in our relationship was take from me.
'Cause you know you got that walk from me
Even the way you walk is like me.
How you dress and how you talk from me
Even the way you dress and talk is like me.
Let's not ever disrespect what I meant to ya
Let's not forget the significance of what we meant to each other.
It took us being over to see all I did for ya
We needed to break up to realize how much I did for you.
I'm just trying to let the past pass
I'm trying to move on from the past.
Ain't no future in that, yeah
We can't build a future if we keep holding onto the past.
I stay 100 like my dash, yeah
I always keep it real and honest.
Have you cummin' faster than The Flash, yeah
I can satisfy you quickly, like The Flash.
Is it all mine, all mine? You know me, I had to ask
Do you belong to me only? I had to clarify.
Can I hit it like I crash? Sipping pinot by the glass
Can I have sex with you hard and fast? Drinking wine.
Honestly I had to take the time to let my ego go
I had to learn to put aside my ego and pride.
Realized that that held us back and back's not where we need to go
I realized that holding onto my ego was hindering our progress.
This don't replace what you did to me
Moving forward doesn't change what you did to hurt me.
This don't replace what I did to you
Moving forward doesn't change what I did to hurt you.
Sometimes it ain't about what we did or didn't do
Sometimes, it's not about the actions we took, but the emotions behind them.
It's about what we getting through
It's about the obstacles we've faced and overcome together.
Look, I'm not tryna play no blame game
I don't want to put the blame on anyone.
Pointing fingers while we skip the point
We're arguing about insignificant details instead of addressing the real issue.
Knowing that we both on the same thing
We both want the same thing in the end.
Riding for each other even if we gotta change lanes
We'll support each other even if it means making a change.
If we don't work it out, shame shame
If we're not able to make this work, it's a shame.
I can't touch these hoes I can't trust
I can't trust any other women.
I don't wanna have a fake us
I don't want us to pretend or act fake in our relationship.
My friends say I should be over you
My friends think I should have moved on from you.
Getting hurt every time I'm close to you
I keep getting hurt every time I get close to you.
I think me and you are overdue
I think you and I need to reconnect.
I think this is what we supposed to do
I believe we're meant to be together.
'Cause you so fucking outta line
You're crossing boundaries and behaving inappropriately.
Forever letting them taste what's mine
You're letting other people experience something that's supposed to be exclusively mine.
Taste what's mine
You're letting other people touch, taste, or experience something that's supposed to be exclusively mine.
Taste what's mine
You're letting other people touch, taste, or experience something that's supposed to be exclusively mine.
You so fucking outta line
You're crossing boundaries and behaving inappropriately.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, Amaire Johnson, Dijon McFarlane
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind