Review: Big Sean's U Know Big Sean—Finally Famous Vol. 2

Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label (the acronym stands for Getting Out Our Dreams) is gathering a pretty impressive stable of artists. A glance at the roster shows long-established names like Common and John Legend alongside up-and-comers like Kid Cudi and Fonzworth Bentley. And right at the top (alphabetically) of these names is Big Sean, known for having featured on two songs from Mike Posner and the Brain Trust's mixtape A Matter of Time. Well, at least at Duke he is.

Sean's making his way back to campus this Wednesday for an LDOC performance with Mike Posner, hot off the heels of his April 16 mixtape U Know Big Sean—Finally Famous Vol. 2. The mixtape clocks in at a bloated 30 tracks, nine of which are either skits or shoutouts that clock in at under 1:30, generally focused on establishing the legitimacy of Big Sean. They are unnecessary. While the songs themselves don't quite leave the listener begging for more, they do point to a not inconsiderable amount of talent and potential.

Being a free mixtape, Sean can lean on the crutch that he won't have on his upcoming full-length debut, Finally Famous, which is due sometime in '09: dynamite, battle-hardened beats. Granted, some of his originals are strong as well, "Getcha Some" and "Desire, Want, Need" especially. But what these mixtapes are really about is the rapper, and by the end of the hour-plus one gets a pretty good idea of what Sean's about: clothes, self-promotion and being fresh. Kanye doesn't stray too far when he's picking these guys, apparently.

"Getcha Some" is one of a few tracks that are essentially lists of brand names, the likes of which will be familiar to anyone who's ever listened to a Kanye album. Sean's flow itself is incredibly reminiscent of West's; measured, clipped verses with varied intonation and overemphasized words and syllables. In fact, it's too reminiscent of West's, and ends up just seeming like a pale imitation when stacked up against the greater man's work. He raps often about his confidence, the "Finally Famous" lifestyle and how well he's made it, but he doesn't sound like he believes himself quite yet.

That being said, Sean's clearly trying to get there. Two of the album's standouts, "Desire, Want & Need" and "Million Dollars," revolve around this drive. The chorus of the latter song, "Now I'm gonna make a million and one dollars and do it again/just wait til tomorrow, we won't borrow ever again," is one of the tape's strongest, and the verses—frequently bragging of being able to provide for his mother, yet another favorite theme of Kanye's—are capable. Sean's joke of, "But thank God for that Mickey D's/one-dollar double cheese, or some nights I wouldn't eat," is relatable at the least, and it's a good example of the humorous social analysis that is currently the best aspect of his lyrics.

The metaphors still have some catching up to do, though. "Say You Will"'s claim that, "I Rolexed the situation and just had perfect timing" is cringe-worthy and typical. And basically all of his quips about women are bizarre, half the time stereotypically misogynistic and the other half sappy and cliched. Sometimes he fits both into one song, as on the more experimental "Minds Playing Tricks on Me," which sports his spontaneous dumping of a girl and then a sullen regret that he was never able to say goodbye to her. The emotional confusion is especially unfortunate because it mars an otherwise strong attempt at something different, where Sean sees his own death in a convenience-store robbery. It's a necessary broadening of horizons for Sean, whose lyrical content begins to get stale after one listen to the mixtape. He's got the tools; now it's time to find some new ways to use them.