Big Sean released his third studio album “Dark Sky Paradise” February 24 on iTunes for $13.99. The deluxe edition of the record has a total of 15 tracks with a runtime of 1 hour and 51 seconds. The album has many features from popular artist such as Kanye West, Drake, Lil Wayne, Chris Brown, Jhené Aiko and John Legend.
The first listen of the album highlights Sean’s creative abilities. Sean has always had clever wordplay and it is on full display on this project. His words just seem to roll off of his tongue and once he gets started rapping it seems he could go on forever.
Tracks that stand out more than others are “Blessings”, “All Your Fault”, “Play No Games”, “Paradise” and “Deep”. While the album definitely has songs that will go on to stand out in Sean’s musical repertoire, there are some forgettable tracks. On the bright side, those tracks don’t take away from the album’s overall cohesiveness. This is an album that seems best suited for a long drive that doesn’t have the listener constantly skipping tracks. The record has a nice balance of different paced songs which is definitely a bonus since all the tracks aren’t hits.
Another bonus for this album is the lyrical content. Slick metaphors that could be missed on the first listen resonate after further plays. However, Sean’s lyrics and content matter may seem repetitive as he frequently discusses past relationships, women, stacking money and doing extravagant things that others aren’t.
The production on this record is solid although it doesn’t wow. A few tracks sound similar which could cause listeners to miss the quality of the lyrics. The two are suppose to coincide to make a record but the production may underwhelm the listener on a few tracks.
Compared to past projects from Sean, this arguably may be his best work. After disappointing fans with his previous records “Finally Famous” and “Hall of Fame”. However, his mixtapes such as “Detroit” have been highly acclaimed. This was Sean’s latest attempt to gain commercial access and it was a strong foot forward.
The final rating for this album is a 7.5/10. Sean put together a solid record that will have his fans satisfied and the average listener pleased with the album.
