Big Sean Biography

Big Sean is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is noted for his encounter with Kanye West, in which he tried to impress him with his freestyle rap. Eventually, he was signed two years later to Kanye’s label.

Early Life and Kanye’s Interview

Sean Michael Leonard Anderson was born on March 25, 1988, in Santa Monica, California to Myra and James Anderson. He was raised by his mother, a school teacher, and grandmother in Detroit, Michigan. He attended the Detroit Waldorf School and graduated from Cass Technical High School. In 2005, after finding out that Kanye West was doing a radio interview at 102.7 FM, he headed over to the station to meet West and perform some of his freestyle. West eventually enjoyed his freestyle, so Sean left West his demo tape. Two years later, West signed Big Sean to Kanye’s GOOD Music.

“Finally Famous”

“Finally Famous”, Sean’s debut studio album, was released in June 2011, and spawned three hit singles; “My Last”, “Marvin & Chardonnay” and “Dance (A$$)”. The album did very well in the charts debuting at no. 3 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 87,000 copies in the United States. “Dance (A$$)” proved to be the most successful of the three singles, achieving triple platinum and peaking at no. 10 on the charts. His album debut earned Big Sean the major breakout he hoped for.
On October 2011, GOOD Music released a compilation album featuring some of their artists, including Big Sean. He contributed on two singles alongside Kanye West, Jay-Z, Pusha T and 2 Chainz: “Mercy” and “Clique”, which will prove to be the album’s most successful singles. Later on, he went on and attached three more albums under his name: “Hall of Fame” (2013), “Dark Sky Paradise” (2015) and “I Decided” (2017). Released in 2013, “Hall of Fame” peaked at no. 3 on the Billboard 200. The album although high in the charts, it didn’t manage to surpass its predecessor or spawning any memorable hit songs. 2015 and 2017 saw the release of his last two albums “Dark Sky Paradise” and “I Decided”, which will prove to be his most successful. Both of them peaked at no. 1 on the Billboard 200 and managed to achieve a platinum certification. Some of their singles include: “I Don’t Fuck with You”, “Blessings” and “Bounce Back”, all managing to get top spots on the charts. Big Sean’s other projects include a collaborative album with Jhené Aiko, titled “Twenty88” (2016), four mixtapes and many collaboration with heavy artists in the music industry.

Personal Life

Big Sean dated his high school sweetheart, Ashley Marie, whom he met when he was sixteen and started dating at nineteen until their break-up in early 2013. He dated actress Naya Rivera in the same year, eventually getting engage with her, but they broke their engagement and split up in October 2014. In 2015 he started a relationship with singer Ariana Grande that ended after 8 months, due to a text message. Big Sean is a men fashion enthusiast. In 2013, he launched his own clothing company, Aura Gold.

Photo source Complex.com