FROM LOCAL RAP BATTLES TO INTERNET SUPER STARDOM-BIG SEAN’S JOURNEY TO FAME
The recipe of success is four parts hard work and one part sheer luck! This is one statement that can completely summarize the rise of one hip hop mega star to fame the likes of which were never seen before! And that hip hop artist is Big Sean.
Born as Sean Michael Anderson in Santa Monica, California, Big Sean was a talented child right from the start. But it was the streets of Detroit where he learned to create his music and create the signature style that Big Sean songs are famous for. When he was two year old, his mother decided to move in with his grandmother who lived in the 6 Mile and Wyoming area of the city. Whenever you hear the phrase “the west side “ in his rhymes, it is this place that he is referring to where he grew up and learned everything that he knows now.
Sean attended the Detroit Waldorf School, a school of art, from Kindergarten to 8th Grade where he was introduced to a spectrum of art and culture. Here he gained his basic understanding hip hop as genre and an art form. He later attended Cass Technical High School where he furthered his music career, made friends that will be with him throughout his later days of stardom and gained the support of fans and peers as he independently sold copies of his music.
The city of Detroit and the local hip hop sub culture had a huge impact on Sean’s upbringing and growth as an artist. While in high school, he became a regular feature of the Detroit’s local hip hop radio station WHTD. This relationship went a long way in launching his career as an artist. He would take part in the rap battle contests organised by the station and show off his rhyming skills on a weekly basis. These experiences formed the basis of his musical style and cemented his popularity in the hip hop community of the city.
However, his tryst with stardom did not come until the year 2005. While at the radio station, he met Kanye West who was visiting the station for an interview. This is where luck favoured his journey. Big Sean grabbed this opportunity with both hands and displayed his talent by free styling his rhymes for West to impress him. He even gave him a copy of his music and later sent numerous songs requesting for critique.
This exchange continued for quite some time and after Sean’s in-studio performance, West offered him a recording contract and helped set up his debut mixtape. And the rest is history! This small push was all that this young talent needed to wow the world with his music. Today, Big Sean music videos, Big Sean pictures and his songs are some of the most viewed musical pieces on the internet. Every Big Sean music video until now has been a super hit. He is also one of the most sought after collaborators in the hip hop industry. Just a little bit of luck and a lot of hard work is the summary of this superstar’s super success story.
About the Author:
James Griffith is a freelance writer from London specialising in writing hiphop r&b music and uk grime music articles. Over the years he has developed an extensive knowledge of urban music and urban music artists and is considered one of the leading authorities on this subject. With a passion for Hip hop and R&B music since childhood, James Griffith brings great knowledge and a great understanding of this exciting music genre and his articles are both informative and entertaining too.
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