Big Sean recently revealed why Kanye West did not appear on his sophomore album, Hall Of Fame, explaining that he and Yeezy had recorded a track together, but it was cut due to it's similar feel to "Fire". What he failed to mention was that "Fire" was given to him from Ye himself.
Sean spoke of the general influence Kanye had on the decision-making for the album, despite not appearing on record. “He had a lot to do with this like DONDA and his company. The music. He was the reason that my album packaging looked so good. It’s such a conceptual album packaging. Everything from the music and the videos all went together so well. It really felt like a real project," he said.
The GOOD rapper then spoke of how he acquired Ye's beat for his single. "He’s the reason I have a “Fire” beat. He gave me the beat for “Fire.” He had it and he loved it, but [he said], ‘I think this will be great for you.’" Sean revealed.
Sean spoke of some other areas in which Kanye influenced the album. "He gave me input on songs like “Nothing Is Stopping You.” I used his voice on “Nothing Is Stopping You.” He gave me a lot of input the songs he liked. What were his favorite, what were his least favorite. All that. It’s just great. He’s a great dude and he let’s you be artistic,” said Sean
The Detroit rapper explained how he had learned simply from watching Kanye. “I made a promise to myself, especially after this album, I always listen to my heart. Always go with what I believe in." said Sean "That’s one of the things [Kanye West] taught me indirectly without even saying. Just from his actions. He’s the best. Kanye West is the best. Nobody can argue with that."
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[Update: "Control" Beat Was Made For Jay Z]
In a new interview with Complex, "Control" producer No I.D. reveals that "Fire" was not the only beat that made its way to Sean after being crafted for someone else.
“I had this beat. I had actually done it for Jay, right before I let [Sean] hear it. I said, ‘You should take this beat, I think it would be great for you to show up on one of these beats, forget money, forget everything’,” said No I.D. “I had a conversation with Big Sean towards the end of his album. I told him, I felt like he needed to do some straight, hardcore hip-hop records. Sometimes we focus so much on selling records that we leave some artistic points uncovered.”
Once the song was passed to Sean, it was envisioned as a solo freestyle.
“I just wanted him to show up on one of those beats and then he did a freestyle to it." said the Chicago beatmaker. "He was like, “I’m gonna drop it as a freestyle.” I was like cool. Then he was like, “Yo, I’m gonna get Jay Electronica on it.” I was like, “Okay, cool.” Anyway, that’s where “No I.D. (Freestyle)” comes from, it was a No I.D. beat and he was freestyling. It didn’t have a chorus, it wasn’t intended to be a full song even.”
The legendary producer revealed that despite making such a high profile beat, he'd rather stay out of the spotlight at this point in his career. “I like the fact that ‘Control’ got out there and we talked to the artists and I didn’t jump out there and say ‘Yeah! You know I did the beat!’ It’s getting old for me to see and do it, I just want to do music.”