Subscribe
The Daily Grind Video
CLOSE

Last week, it was announced that Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music artist, Big Sean, will be hitting the road with Wiz Khalifa for the Rolling Papers Tour 2011. Big Sean has been killing the mixtape and hip-hop game with his “Finally Famous” Mixtape series, features like GangBang and “All Of The Lights” remix.

We sat down with Big Sean for an interview about all things G.O.O.D. and more. Check it out below.

GG: Can you tell us more about the Good Music Show at SXSW?

Big Sean: Yeah, that show was incredible. It really reminded me of the ’90s, of when I was a kid and they would have like Death Row and shit. They’d have like the big Death Row in the background and motherf**kin’ Snoop and Pac. People would come out in the Bad Boy and Ma$e and Big. So it really felt like that, the big glowing Good Music in the background. You know, we started to wear ski masks and just real player shit. It was fun and it was an experience of a lifetime and it was cool to just be a part of history.

How does it feel to be a part of a crew where everybody is dope? Everyone in G.O.O.D. music brings their own style and unique talent.

Man, that’s a compliment, thank you. That shit is incredible man. There’s no other crew I’d rather be on, period. I feel like I’m on the f**king ’96 Bulls or some shit. I know we winning, this is the shit. You know, Kanye is the shit, Cudi, Pusha, Common, John Legend, Cyhi, all the fools. It’s an honor to be a part of history, like I said.

[pagebreak]

You’re featured on Wiz Khalifa’s song “Gang Bang.” Did you guys record that song together? If so, how was that session?

We were at his house. We were at his house just chillin’, talking. He had a portable studio in his house. We both live in L.A. and we did it, we recorded those songs two days before they came out. It wasn’t even work, it was so easy. That’s one of my good friends, so we’re just chillin’ and my verses just fell on those songs.

Now lyrically, you are able to combine a fun flow and lyrical skill at the same time. With that said, after you heard the remix to “All of the Lights,” what did you think of your verse in comparison to everyone else’s verse?

I didn’t hear everyone else’s verse. All they gave me was the instrumental, so I didn’t know what other people’s verses were going to sound like until it was finished.

After it was finished what was going through your mind? Because as a battle rapper you’re always trying to shine?

Yeah, I was thinking my verse was pretty good, it held it’s own. That’s what it’s all about. I was representing myself and I feel like I ripped that shit. Just the morse code line and even, “Every rapper named Big got body and every rapper named Sean got money/I guess my chances are fifty fifty/My vision is 20-20 I be countin’ a hundred hundred.” I thought my shit was pretty good.

[pagebreak]

What’s your favorite lyric that you spit?

I don’t know if I want to say it because it’s on my album and it hasn’t come out yet. It’s on the song called “I Do It.” It’s about to come out. That might be my next single. The favorite line I’ve done that’s out though. Well, I made that super duper rhyme scheme. I made the one word rap rhyme scheme up. Drake made it more popular. You know, the one word metaphor describing some shit like “Used to the bottom, school book/I’m on the grind, skateboard or scooter.” That rhyme scheme that rap has destroyed. So my favorite line probably was, “Line after line after line after line after line, barcode.” I felt like that was the best example of how to use that shit.

We also know that you are an avid movie fanatic.

Hell yeah! It sucks because I don’t have time to go to the movies like I want to. But I love looking at movies because I feel like movies are like an escape from the real world. Whatever you’re going through, whatever problems, you’re like at a movie for an hour and a half and you just forget about that shit. At least for that time, when you really get into a good movie. That’s what I think I admire about movies.

Did you see any new movies recently?

Last ones I saw were like “Inception” and “Black Swan.”

What’d you think of Black Swan?

It was cool, it was really artsy. I was with my girl and she was really into it. “Inception” was one of my favorite movies that I saw recently.

[pagebreak]

How excited are you for the release of your album?

Super excited, man. It’s all I’ve been working on. I’ve waited my whole life. It’s an artist’s dream to put an album out. I can’t believe it’s that time, but I can believe it. It’s like, ‘Yes!’ I put a lot of work in, I put a lot of groundwork in. Just to see it all coming together is unreal. It’s a proven theory though, I guess. If you keep hitting the wall, it’s going to fall down eventually.

Being a battle rapper, if someone was to ever come at you, would you be able to go head-to-head and battle?

Hell yeah, I’m down for it. If anyone got any shit to say, I’m down to go head-to-head on a track.

Why you think rappers don’t do that anymore? They drop subliminals or don’t go toe-to-toe.

I wouldn’t necessarily do that shit. You know, it’s not like – I think we’ve learned so much from the losses of B.I.G. and Pac and other rappers over dumb shit, that it’s not about that. Going through this recession it’s all about coming together and vibe.

It’s ironic because one of my managers managed Nas, he said he felt like it’s such a different time in hip-hop, he felt like when he was coming up with people like Nas and Jay and Biggie were all the new people, how they weren’t cool like that. People were in their crews and there was real violence sometimes. He said, it’s cool to see you guys just interact with each other and be cool as hell.