Big Sean, The Superhero Dad

On a Thursday evening in March, I start my conversation with Big Sean by discussing something he’s extremely passionate about. Rap? We’ll talk about that in a bit. His infant son? In a bit, too.  

So what is it? Anime. Specifically Dragon Ball Z and the many other series attached to it, all created by Akira Toriyama, who passed away in March. 

Toriyama holds a special place in Sean’s heart, so much so that he says his “life would probably be completely different” if Toriyama’s beloved Dragon Ball franchise didn’t exist. 

“The thing I like about Dragon Ball Z is how the characters push past the limits and defeat unimaginable odds,” Sean says. “I appreciate him for making characters that motivated me so much, in so many different ways. Not just Goku, but also Piccolo, Vegeta. Even with Dragon Ball—just all of those characters, man.” 

Sean has pushed through multiple iterations of himself to become the man he is today, both personally and professionally. He’s a father of Detroit rap, adding his own legacy to the city’s already rich rap history and championing contemporary stars like 42 Dugg, Cash Kidd, Kash Doll, Tee Grizzley and Sada Baby. He’s also a literal father. He and his partner, Jhené Aiko, had their first child, a baby boy named Noah Hasani, in November 2022. 

Being a father has understandably taken precedence for Sean. When he’s not introducing the 2-year-old to anime shows like Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball Super and Naruto (though what the toddler loves most is Yo Gabba Gabba! and YouTuber Ms. Rachel), he’s watching Noah take in the world and enjoy its simple pleasures.  

“One of the biggest lessons of fatherhood that I love is just enjoying the simple things,” Sean says. “I feel like I kind of lost touch with that before having my son. And what I mean by that is, if I’m walking with him outside, just looking at the sky, looking at a plant, he’ll want to reach out for a flower. And then I admire the flower, too. And I appreciate him, because even though he’s my son, it’s like he’s teaching me.” 

He pauses for a beat, as if fondly remembering the moment; then he adds, “So that’s one of the things I really appreciate—slowing down and focusing solely on Noah. Because you can’t do anything else but focus on him.”  

Of course, there are the inevitable challenges that come with having a child—such as finding a balance between being present for him and pursuing other passions. Although Sean’s last full-length project was 2020’s Detroit 2, he’s dropped new music since, both solo material and features. The latter has been particularly notable, with Sean rapping over a beat from legendary producer the Alchemist, courtesy of  “Palisades, CA”—a track from The Great Escape, the Alchemist and Larry June’s collaborative album from last year.  

But it’s an appearance on Bryson Tiller’s “Get Dis Money,” from his Slum Tiller Vol. 3 EP, released in January, that has piqued fans’ interest. The song is Sean’s take on seminal Detroit rap group Slum Village’s track of the same name, produced by one of Detroit’s most-revered beat makers: the late J Dilla. Sean hasn’t rapped over a Dilla beat since 2012, when he shared a freestyle of himself rapping over the pioneering producer’s “Two Can Win.” The song was from 2006’s Donuts, the last album Dilla made before he passed away.  

Now, Sean has rapped on “Get Dis Money” and the Pharcyde’s “Drop,” also produced by Dilla—having released a freestyle of himself on a slowed instrumental of the latter in March. There was also supposed to be an unreleased Dilla beat on Detroit 2, but that didn’t happen—which is unfortunate, considering that Sean initially envisioned having a certain fellow Detroit rapper on the track: Eminem. 

“It reminded me of an old Eminem. And when I sent it to Em, he was like, ‘Man, I like the Dilla beat, for sure. I get it,’” Sean recalls. But Em preferred the beat for the song that ended up being Detroit rap posse cut “Friday Night Cypher.” 

Still, with all the references to Dilla ahead of Sean’s expected release of a new album this year, I ask him if fans can finally hope to hear him grace a beat from the beloved producer on an official solo project. 

“As of now, there is me rapping on J Dilla beats that I have recorded—but I don’t know if it’s on the album or not,” he says coyly. However, what he can share about the new album is that it’s “just me having fun and expressing myself.” 

“The only thing I’m going for is just authenticity,” he says. “I don’t like putting too much pressure on an album anymore. I just want to get my art off, do my thing.” 

Even though he’s looking toward the future in his music career, Sean’s also been reveling in his past accomplishments. In January he released a new song titled “Freshman 10 (Freestyle),” on which he reflects on the 2010 XXL Freshman Class cover that included him, J. Cole, Jay Rock, Freddie Gibbs, the late Nipsey Hussle and others.  

Nowadays, rap fans affectionately refer to the era these rappers came up in as the blog era: a period of time from the late 2000s to the early 2010s when rap blogs and mixtape-distribution platforms helped propel artists to success. 

This was the case for Sean, whose 2012 Detroit mixtape caused Datpiff, a popular mixtape website at the time, to crash upon its release. 

“It was incredible, man,” he says of the moment. “We were working hard every night in the studio. I would work until this pancake place that I really liked going to would open up. It would open up at 7:30 in the morning, so I would work all day, and all night, and in the morning until that place opened—go there, eat, catch some sleep, wake up and just get back to it. It’s amazing to see it pay off.” 

And as for his favorites from the blog era? He mentions Lil’ Wayne’s “The Dedication,” and Wiz Khalifa’s “Cabin Fever” and “Kush & Orange Juice,” to name a few. “To me, Wiz Khalifa dominated the mixtape era,” Sean says. “That’s some of the best product right there—that ‘Kush & Orange’ and ‘Cabin Fever.’ Along with ‘Dedication’ by Wayne.” 

With our interview coming to a close,  I ask Sean about his dream acting role.  He made his live-action acting debut in 2021 in Lena Waithe’s BET ­comedy-drama series Twenties—and served as the titular character for an animated movie, Trouble, that was released that same year on ­Netflix, with his best friend, ­Lawrence Lamont. 

He says that he wants to work with Lamont, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, and actor and former wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson—both of whom Sean refers to as his “homies”—on a movie in which he portrays a superhero. 

“I know that when it comes to acting and just anything I do, I want to really  concentrate and focus on it,” he says. “So when that time comes, if it’s right, then it’s right.” 

Production credits: Barber: Ronnie McCoy III, Grooming: Lucia Rodriguez, Set Design: Jack Taylor Jr., Digital Technician: Sean Morr, Photography Assistants: Colin Jacob & Zach Hughes, Retouching: Carrie Beene, Film Processing: Arthouse Film Lab, Location: NYA Studios, Production Manager: Alaura Wong.