On Monday (Aug. 26), Big Sean hopped on Instagram Live to give fans an update on his long-awaited sixth album, Better Me Than You. To the surprise of those who tuned in, the Detroit emcee had to fight back tears while explaining what he's been dealing with during the rollout, which included an unfortunate bout of COVID.
"I am a chronic overthinker. I’m a chronic, constant worker. And I’ve been having a hard time lately, straight up," he admitted. "When you make art, you put a lot into it. I definitely am a chronic overworker, overthinker, and I’ve been dedicating a lot of my life to it."
Sean continued, "I don’t try and read into what everybody says. It’s hard because you do care about your s**t. I try and stay focused on the path and keep the music focused on what I want to do, no matter what people think. Sometimes, if you read into too much s**t, the internet can suck the fun out of it. Just anything you do. So as an artist, expressing yourself is important to me to stay on that path."
He eventually confirmed that he'll finally be releasing Better Me Than You on Aug. 30 – a decision he made concretely after some needed support from his family. "When me and [Jhené Aiko] were giving our son a bath last night, my mom called me, and she was just giving me them words,” he said. “I appreciate my mom for being that guardian angel and always giving me that advice. She really talked me through it, for real."
The follow-up to the chart-topping Detroit 2 is led by the singles "Precision," "Yes," "On Up," and "Together Forever." In addition to sharing the artwork for Better Me Than You, Sean unveiled a short film, titled Clarity, which provided a behind-the-scenes look into the project's creation.