Big Sean has officially announced his upcoming sixth album Better Me Than You, just a day after a version of it was leaked online.
The Detroit rapper unveiled the news on social media on Thursday (July 18) and revealed that it will be released on August 9.
AD LOADING...
He also explained some of the meaning behind his new album while sharing a psychedlic trailer soundtracked by an unreleased song featuring a funky bassline, spacey synths and pounding percussion.
“The PRESSURE of life (being a new Dad, being a artist thats growing, being a human in development etc) and embracing it all led me to a lot of CLARITY on what i needed to FOCUS on to find a piece of HAPPINESS,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“The past few years making this album have been a journey to say the least, but n l’m just glad we finally here.”
BETTER ME THAN YOU 🌍
Album August 9th
Pre save + Vinyl now https://t.co/A6iVPHNgQqpic.twitter.com/248pcRfIYo— Sean Don (@BigSean) July 18, 2024
The 𝙋𝙍𝙀𝙎𝙎𝙐𝙍𝙀 of life (being a new Dad, being a artist thats growing, being a human in development etc) and embracing it all led me to a lot of 𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐘 on what i needed to 𝐅𝐎𝐂𝐔𝐒 on to find a piece of 𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑷𝑰𝑵𝑬𝑺𝑺. The past few years making this album have… pic.twitter.com/A3D9HQkM80
— Sean Don (@BigSean) July 18, 2024
To coincide with the album announcement, Big Sean released a new single called “Yes,” which finds him putting the competition on notice over hard-hitting production.
“I would rather give y’all my soul, I don’t have to sell it / Might take a piss off your rap Mount Rushmore after I scale it / Blue strips when I do hit the strip, know we fuckin’ it up like Elvis,” he raps before namedropping JAY-Z.
AD LOADING...
“No broke talk, G.O.A.T. talk / Money talkin’ to me, like I don’t need no muthafuckin’ therapist / Brought it right back to the crib like it’s nowhere else to go / I was in North Carolina throwin’ up them pyramids with Hov.”
Watch the accompanying visualizer below.
It has already been a dramatic album rollout for Big Sean, who saw an unfinished version of Better Me Than You leak online earlier this week.
The leaker claimed to have released the project ahead of schedule after Sean took shots at Kanye West in his recent On the Radar freestyle.
AD LOADING...
“Since he wanna disrespect Ye so much, here’s the album, fuck him and his whole team,” the culprit wrote.
They also said: “Ye told me to leak it.”
AD LOADING...
The leaked files, 14 of them in total, included previously unheard collaborations with Nas, Brent Faiyaz, Charlie Wilson and The-Dream, as well as Sean’s girlfriend Jhené Aiko.
While it’s unclear whether Kanye was indeed behind the leak, Big Sean himself addressed the commotion on social media and seemed to take the setback in stride.
“Might as well start droppin, before they leak it all, got damn. BIG SEAN x THE ALCHEMIST soon,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter) while sharing a snippet of an upcoming collaboration with the legendary producer.
In his aforementioned On the Radar freestyle, Sean aimed several subliminal jabs at his former G.O.O.D. Music boss while rapping over Aaliyah‘s “If Your Girl Only Knew.”
AD LOADING...
“I had to switch the home team ’cause they committed treason […] N-ggas looking for engagement like they got their knee bent / I got better things to do than to find someone to beef with,” he rapped, seemingly referencing Kanye’s disparaging comments about him on Drink Champs.
He also spit: “Man, this industry is terrible, I can’t even vouch / I’ve seen grown men get matching tattoos for the clout.”
AD LOADING...
This line was interpreted as a dig at Ye getting indentical tattoos with Lil Uzi Vert and Steve Lacy in 2022. The trio all got the phrase, “We Here Forever Technically” inked on their biceps.
