Big Sean rereleasing debut album 'Finally Famous' for 10th anniversary
Remixed and remastered set, due out Friday, contains one previously unreleased track, 'Freshman 10'
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Big Sean is rereleasing his debut album "Finally Famous."
The Detroit rapper will release a remixed and remastered version of his 2011 album to streaming platforms on Friday, he announced in an Instagram video on Thursday.
The album will include one previously unreleased track, "Freshman 10," which is about Sean's experience at the cover shoot for the 2010 Freshman Class issue of XXL magazine. Sean was included on the annual cover, which gathers 10 of hip-hop's hottest up-and-comers, along with J. Cole, Nipsey Hussle, Wiz Khalifa, Jay Rock, Freddie Gibbs and more.
"It's real nostalgic," Sean said of the Hit-Boy-produced track, which he said was recorded two years ago. "It really takes me back to that time period, that 2010, 2011 moment in my life."
"Finally Famous" was released on June 28, 2011. The 12-track album (16 tracks on the deluxe edition) featured collaborations with Chris Brown ("My Last"), Kanye West ("Marvin & Chardonnay"), John Legend ("Memories (Part II)") and more, and it debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart.
"This is the album that changed everything for me," Sean said. "It took me from being a mixtape artist to going city to city and hearing myself on the radio."
A lot of things were different then, including Sean's vocal delivery. "My voice was super high," he said. "I was just figuring it out, nervous as hell."
At the time, streaming hadn't taken hold of the music industry the way it has today, and Sean said "it was a different level of investing in an artist." He recalled playing concerts from London to Japan and seeing crowds full of Detroit Tigers and Red Wings hats. "It was crazy, bro," he said.
The remastered "Finally Famous" is "just for fun," Sean said, and he's working on new music which he said would be released soon.
"I know that yesterday's stats don't win today's games, so I'm excited for the new music we've got coming, too, but I'ma let that speak for itself," he said.
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