- Overall theme: A spoken diary and narrative combination that includes heavy meditations upon both dark and light themes with bangers included.
- Overall Score [Scale given at bottom] – 4.4 / 5
Highlight Tracks:
1. Light – Because who better than Ye’s protégé to give us an “Ultralight Beam Pt.II”
2. No Favors- Because Eminem is still beautifully angry
3. Moves - Because 1:15- 1:29 is legendary flow
Notable Lyrics:
1. “Everybody in the city to me like a distant cousin, brother, little sister/ I see myself in the young ones/ When I look in their eyes it feel like a mirror” – Bigger Than Me
2. “Bullet to the head might be the way to free it/If I leave my body I can free the spirits/Swear to God my death of fear just keep on shrinking / Wish I could go back to the nineties back when I was dreaming/Me and my dog was on a mission like we Kel and Kenan/Early 2000s…” – Voices in My Head/ Stick to the Plan
3. “I seen people in the same place 10 years later, man that sh*t pathetic/God talking to me telepathic like it only happen if you let it/I can’t spend my whole life looking at the same ceiling fan/When I feel like I ain’t got no ceilings man.” – Bigger than Me
Review
Big Sean is back from his hiatus, and he has some things to get off his chest. There is a party platter of themes and subject matter he touches on, each tasteful in their own way. From regret to universal thankfulness, the subjects frequently change but steady goes Sean’s strong verbal delivery to drive it all home.
A high degree of originality shines through with the album’s created atmosphere of a sonic journal, which sees an older, wiser Sean detailing select scenes of his life. The production aspect is mixed well and the instrumentation is diversified from a church-band setup ("Light"), to a harpsichord/violin combo overlaid onto an 808 bass beat ("Sacrifice").
The only real area for concern is the track order arrangement, which could have been arranged more prudently: taking the audience to church with “Light” and then suddenly taking them to the after-party to collect checks and women on “Bounce Back” is an odd transition. Overall, however, “I Decided” has a high re-playability. I’m most likely to go back to the album for the bangers (like “Sacrifice” which is pure fuego), but if the album were to continue playing I wouldn’t change or skip to the next song.
Lastly, The X-Factor is there. By the end of the album, you’ve spent a weekend in the life of Big Sean, from Fridays filled with every rapper’s favorite things, to a lonely, self-combative Saturday, to a thankful Sunday Sermon with Mom.
The Scale:
Bars - 1
- Subject Matter: [ .5 / .5 ]
- Delivery: [ .5 / .5 ]
Creativity – 1
- Originality in sound: [ .5 / .5 ]
- Structure: [ .5 / .5 ]
Production – 1
- Instrumentation: [ .5 / .5 ]
- Blend: [ .5 / .5 ]
Cohesion - .65
- Playability [ .25 / .5 ]
- Re-playability [ .4 / .5
X – Factor- .75
- [ .75 / 1 ]
Total: [4.4]
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