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Home Music Album Reviews
August 27, 2013 4:05AM ET
Jon Dolan
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Big Sean's second LP might've already been overshadowed by a Big Sean song that isn't on it – "Control," where guest Kendrick Lamar carpet-bomb-dissed a generation of rappers, including Big Sean. It's too bad: The Detroit MC gets over on congeniality and crisp delivery, even when his lyrics are pro forma. Producers No I.D. and Key Wane give him sharp, energetic tracks, and "First Chain" hints at what might've been a great concept in a year when his hometown went bankrupt: "Police only work 12-hour shifts/'Cause in Detroit, that's cheaper than the bailout, bitch." Such full-throated realism takes insight and gravitas he doesn't quite have.
In This Article: Big Sean