Big Sean delivers most worthwhile effort yet with Dark Side Paradise

“I started rapping Biggie Smalls in the basement/and now we headed towards the tallest skyscrapers,” Big Sean muses on “Dark Sky,” the opening track to his third studio album, Dark Sky Paradise.

Sean sounds hungry – after four mixtapes and two studio albums he still feels like he has something to prove with this release. He has had moderate radio success up to this point, with his highest charting songs coming not from his solo efforts, but from his contribution to G.O.O.D. Music (his label) posse bangers.

Still, Sean has yet to be accepted by the hip-hop community as a heavyweight of the new class of rap giants, a group that includes Kendrick Lamar, Drake and J.Cole. Sean, however, puts himself in that group without hesitation.

“I think I’m top tier. I’m bringing it,” he asserted in an interview with the Breakfast Club yesterday morning. With Paradise, Sean certainly helps his case, but he is still not quite the elite he views himself to be.

Dark Sky Paradise follows Sean’s Hall of Fame, which was widely considered to be an average effort that undoubtedly got outshined by Kendrick Lamar’s provocative verse in Control. Paradise got off on a much better foot thanks to the massive success of the album’s first lead single, “I Don’t F—k With You,” which landed a number 11 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. This is by far the highest position a Big Sean single has enjoyed on the Hot 100, and for good reason. Sean shows a great deal of personality with this track – his lyrics are not the most eloquent, but they’re clever, and his high-pitched delivery pairs perfectly with DJ Mustard’s signature pulsating synth line.

The two tracks before IDFWU – “Blessings” and “All Your Fault” – are among Sean’s best ever. “All Your Fault” features Ye and Sean trading witty bars about their success in the music industry over production by West and Travi$ Scott. The beat is the album’s finest; it showcases Kanye’s knack for sampling, hard-hitting drums, and deep, low-hanging synths that give the track a great bottom-end. Similarly, “Blessings” delivers with a solid hook and verse by Drake and minimalistic production that complements Drake and Sean’s deliveries. However, after the album’s fourth track – IDFWU – Paradise loses its consistency and often dips into mediocrity.

Tracks five through twelve are hit-or-miss, and the highs don’t match those of the album’s first four songs. Sean often finds himself outshined by his expensive production. He doesn’t rely primarily on his beats, like Migos or Rich Homie Quan do, but he also isn’t driven by lyrical prowess, like east-coast traditionalist Joey Bada$$. As a result, Sean is often caught in limbo, making for some uninteresting material. He rarely explores substantial topic matter, and one of the few times he does – on the track “Deep” – he throws all subtlety out the window by repeatedly exclaiming, “that sh—t get deep.” The album finishes somewhat strongly with “One Man Can Change the World,” an ode to Sean’s grandmother who recently passed, and “Outro,” which feels liked a funk-filled victory lap, but these songs are not memorable enough to redeem the album for its unexceptional middle portion

Still, with the dark album artwork, clean production, and thunderstorm motif heard throughout the album, Paradise creates an aesthetic that makes it Sean’s most focused release to date. He still has a ways to go, but one gets the feeling that Big Sean’s best days are ahead of him.

6.5/10

Favorite Track: “All Your Fault”

Least Favorite Track: “Stay Down”