Two years after 2017’s I Decided, Big Sean’s long-awaited fifth studio album is set to arrive next week. Serving as the sequel to his 2012 Detroit mixtape, the rapper revealed the cover art and release date for the follow-up effort this past week, arriving nearly eight years later. “My fifth album #Detroit2 September 4th,” he wrote.
The Don then followed up the news by dropping the fiery single “Deep Reverance” featuring the late Nipsey Hussle on Monday night. On the song, Sean addresses a number of personal situations, including his feud with Kendrick Lamar and girlfriend Jhene Aiko’s miscarriage. After the release of the single, the Michigan spitter tweeted, “I pray yall hear the honesty,” which is precisely what fans heard in the rapper’s vulnerable bars on the track.
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If the rest of the album follows the same themes of honesty we heard on "Deep Reverence," we can expect more personal anecdotes from the 32-year-old rapper about his growth as an artist and person, aptly titled after the city that raised him.
Beyond what Sean has already laid bare on wax, here’s everything we’ve gathered about the Detroit-bred rapper’s upcoming project set to arrive Labor Day weekend.
It's his "best album by far"
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After developing the album for years and revealing that he was forced to rediscover his passion for music in the process, the GOOD Music artist proudly declared D2 to be his best work to date as far back as last year. In an interview with iHeart, Sean assured us: "I'm not gonna lie, this is my best album by far. I wanted to take my time. I wanted to take it serious and I wanted to be 100% fulfilled [by it]."
At that time, we didn't yet know it would be a sequel. Sean first announced the new album on his birthday back in March of this year via a trailer. Uploaded on March 25th, the rapper explained his love for the city and how it inspired the upcoming project as he visits various local sites.
"Detroit to me it’s home, but I feel like it’s more than just a city, you know? It’s for real a mentality," he said in the trailer for the album. "What’s crazy is the things I thought would destroy me came full circle to fuel me."
"I been going back listening to music that impacted me growing up," he added. "Songs that I hear on the radio every day, but I didn't even realize it was only popping in Detroit."
He confirmed the completion of the project on Sunday via Instagram, writing, “I feel nothing but happy! Finally done recording #D2. Time for mixing.”
An unofficial tracklist puts the album at 16 tracks with rumored features from Eminem, Post Malone, and Meek Mill, among others.
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In addition to “Deep Reverance” with Nipsey Hussle, Sean’s new album is expected to include a number of exciting features. One possible feature in particular that has fans buzzing is a rumored Eminem feature. Fans are eager to see a song with the two Detriot natives on the upcoming project and while it's yet to be confirmed, Sean added fuel to the fire recently, by liking a tweet from a fan suggesting that a collab from the two would appear on D2. While this could be an indicator that there’ll be a Slim Shady appearance on the project, neither Sean nor Em have confirmed it.
According to an unofficial tracklist put together by Genius, other rumored features on the project include a song with Chris Brown titled “Terrordome,” “Wolves,” with Post Malone, and “Break Hearts,” with Meek Mill, but again, they are all purely speculative currently.
Detriot 2 will be executively produced by Hit-Boy & G.O.O.D Music founder Kanye West.
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Ahead of the release of the project, producer Hit-Boy announced on social media that he and Kanye West will be executive-producing the album along with Sean, which is set to be released through Ye’s label GOOD Music.
"I watched bro @BigSean lock in for hours til every bar hit how he wanted it to. His vision was clear from the jump this is some of his most elevated work on every level," the California beatmaker said in a tweet, attaching the cover art. "Proud is an understatement!! DETROIT 2 9/4 executive produced by me Big Sean and Kanye west." A frequent GOOD Music collaborator, Hit-Boy’s production list includes hits like “N*ggas in Paris,” “Sicko Mode,” and “Racks in the Middle.”
The album was inspired after taking a significant break from music.
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In an interview with Angie Martinez back in October 2019, the rapper explained why he had taken such an extensive break from creating music, saying, "The first step is just listening to yourself, which I didn't know how to do."
"I was losing a sense of who I was by always having something to do, always staying in the studio and it was becoming a real routine. [Music] was becoming my job rather than my passion," he continued. "One of the things I've been focusing on is going back to my passion when I was making the mixtapes. When I was in the basement recording."
With his passion for music now stronger than ever, the rapper declared that D2 is the best work of his career.
Are you looking forward to Detroit 2? Let us know in the comments!