Big Sean has had enough of being called Jay-Z. The rapper is reclaiming his real name with the release of his new album, “I Decided.”
“It’s just such a weird time for hip-hop. I’m not really into it,” he said in an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1 on Apple Music. “I don’t feel like no other rappers are doing anything that’s super cool or fresh to me and that would make me want to do something.”
Sean Combs was Big Sean’s stage name at first, but after some successful collaborations with Kanye West under that name, he started using it as his legal name as well. He said it made sense because he was around celebrities, and “that’s what they do. They change their names all the time for marketing reasons.”
But after getting a new deal with GOOD Music’s G.O.O.D., Sean felt obligated to go back to his original name out of respect for Def Jam founder Russell Simmons, who is now an executive at Universal Republic Records where Sean had been signed as Big Sean since 2008 before leaving in 2010 amid rumors of label tension following West’s departure from Island Def Jam due to divestment by parent company Universal Music Group that same year (though both entities were eventually absorbed into UMG). “I just feel like I need to show some kind of dignity,” he said on Z ane Lowe’s Beats One radio show.
He also said that he felt like his new GOOD Music deal was a fresh start and it made sense to go back to Big Sean as opposed to Jay-Z because there is no writing on the wall for him in rap anymore, whereas with GOOD Music “I can do all type of music.”
The first time I heard about this rapper called “Jay Z” (sorry Beyoncé) it just seemed so fitting. He had come up around celebrities, after all, and they change their names all the time—for marketing reasons. It somehow never occurred to me at any point before now how ridiculous or unnecessary that actually sounds in retrospect. The only reason anyone has ever used a stage name is to sell more records. There’s no point in it otherwise, and Jay Z was never really a rapper anyway so much as he was an MC or “mack daddy.”
It makes sense that Big Sean would want his own name back after being associated with the rap legend for around eight years—especially since there doesn’t seem like any sort of career left for him in this genre anymore (at least not one where he’s considered among the best). It also seems fitting that GOOD Music would be willing to let him do all types of music under their banner because they’re talented enough that nobody cares what style you put out if your artist is on Kanye West’s team. So I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.intro paragraph:
Remember Jay Boy and his “I’m the Plug” days? The Detroit rapper, born Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, has been releasing music under that name for a decade. But in 2016 he made the decision to let go of it all by changing his stage name to Big Sean. The change is part of what’s helped him find himself artistically as well as personally.”It feels so good,” says Big Sean. “But I just feel more like myself now than ever before.”
paragraph two: His new album Dark Sky Paradise was released last year with features from Kanye West and Drake among others . He also co-wrote Justin Bieber’s hit song Sorry on Purpose .”You know how you’re
The thing is, Big Sean has always been one of the more thoughtful artists in this genre who actually talks about his own life as well as social ills like racism or government corruption. And that made him a little different than someone like Jay Z who came from an upper-class background and was never really involved with extreme poverty or violence on any level (unless you count all those beefs). That’s not to say there weren’t moments where he went too far for no reason—remember when he said Drake wasn’t black enough? Or how about when he had Lil’ Wayne’s son sign over half of his publishing royalties so they could do a joint album together? Those are just some examples
