“I Decided.,” the most recent release from Big Sean, is another strong project for the Detroit artist and features the likes of Eminem, Jerimih and Migos. The album is a very cohesive piece of work. The production of each track is fantastic, offering diverse sounds from R&B to trap and seamless transitions to the following song. There is never a moment on “I Decided.” which feels unnecessary. While the production quality is exceptional, the best aspects of the album are the lyrics and their execution.
While the album has lyrically rich moments, there are tracks with shallow and fairly simple hooks such as “Moves” and “Bounce Back.” For example, “Bounce Back” exhibits these weaker hooks, “Wake up every morning, by the night, I count stacks / Knew that ass was real when I hit, it bounce back.”
However, these songs redeem themselves lyrically with Big Sean’s exceptional wordplay as seen in “Moves,” “Look, give me the ball and I will have to pass it / I ain't passing out until I'm asthma attacking / I take a plan and then I back-to-back it / Hit after hit, check the batting average / I take the work, flip it, acrobatic.” Not only are the weaker songs on “I Decided.” redeemed by the wordplay but Big Sean’s agility and cadence in delivering the lyrics is impressive and a joy to listen to.
“I Decided.” seems to be the story of Big Sean and the experiences which led him to who he is today. It certainly represents a range of emotions from responses to death to wanting to support his mother. The album is not wholly any single emotional tone but the final third of the album does impart a feeling of inspiration through its more reflective nature and more prevalent gospel influences.
The final moments of “I Decided.” feel like a satisfying conclusion to this expression of life from Big Sean. The outro of “I Decided.” consists of a phone call between Sean and his mother, giving some final insight into Sean’s mindset. This bleeds into the narrator of the album saying, “It's that simple. It's all about living in the moment. Period.” These words seem to be the encompassing theme Sean was sending through this musical story of his life.
When all is said and done, “I Decided.” is one of Big Sean’s strongest works to date and is worth the listen.
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