Big Sean’s Detroit 2 is finally here. The Motor City native released the 21-track effort — with features from Nipsey Hussle, Lil Wayne, Eminem, Diddy, Jhene Aiko and more — on Friday (Sept. 4). Before he started working on the record, however, Sean was having difficulty finding inspiration, he revealed in a new interview.
“I feel like I was broken. I would try and be in a studio [and] I couldn’t think of anything. I would try to feel good and I couldn’t feel good,” Sean told Apple Music 1’s Nadeska Alexis.
When creatives hit that wall, he explained, “You might be ready either for something else, or — in my case — I just had to rediscover it.”
“At one point — I thought I was done,” he added. “… I was like, maybe I shouldn’t even be doing music anymore. Maybe I did it, and that’s it. But then I was like, no. Once I started taking care of myself, I started thinking of things differently. I started approaching songs differently. And I had that hunger back, you know. I was hungry. I’m hungry on these songs.”
Themes of self-help and improvement are evident throughout the album. Sean said that things like starting therapy and learning how to better communicate with his loved ones helped him find his passion again.
“I felt like I started all over,” he said. “I had to break down myself, lay a new foundation and take the best parts of myself that I had and build. And build it stronger; build it more efficient and build it with happiness.”
“As I was making the album, I was returning to my passion of music, ‘cause I feel like I lost it for a little bit,” he continued. “I wasn’t inspired. I was making music that wasn’t all the way inspired. Not liking the things I came up with. And then all of a sudden — the inspiration came back.”
Sean’s Detroit 2 trended on Twitter Friday morning (Sept. 4), especially after fans took notice of track No. 19, “Friday Night Cypher.” The song — fans discovered — is a nine-minute cypher with multiple Detroit artists, including Tee Grizzley, Kash Doll, Sada Baby, Royce Da 5’9” and Eminem.
Stream Big Sean’s Detroit 2 below and find his full interview here.