may not be from Detroit, but he tells a story about smoking what-might-not-have-been weed with native son-rapper Danny Brown , bombing on stage, but winning over the Motor City audience.
When Sean raps “I don’t complain about life. I adapt” within the first 10 minutes of this new album, it ties him to the stick-to-it-ive-ness of Stevie, and proves there is a pragmatism to Sean’s work that’s not always easy to find anywhere else in hip-hop or nu-soul.
That same muted choir of angels floats behind “Harder Than My Demons,”with the gentle zeal of confidence that is Sean’s brand of romantic devotion. “The best move I make is when you’re by my side,” he rap-sings. Corny? Probably. But you can’t deny the power of love’s focus. And if he believes it, you believe it — that’s Big Sean’s skill.
Another of tender Sean’s big skills is his way with songs with dramatic pauses and stop-and-start orchestration. “Everything That’s Missing,” with the greatly underappreciated jazz/neo-soul singer Dwele , follows the duo through clanging percussion, halting piano, and a creamy R&B melody filled with Sean’s clichéd axioms.
Another stop-and-starter, “Time In” with TWENTY88 , holds a more monochromatic melody as its base, but finds theatricality in Aiko’s vocal highs, Sean’s flute-y rap, and a story about his worst habit being “playing out things before they happen.” The often overlooked Aiko also gets a crack at another meh song, “Body Language,” but makes the most of its silly, sexist lyrics, such as those referring to “pouring champagne on that ass like I’m Dame Dash.