On the eve of his “Saturday Night Live” debut, Big Sean stopped by “The Tonight Show” to talk about why it’s such a special occasion.
“I’ve been to ‘SNL,’ but this is my first time being the musical guest,” he told Jimmy Fallon. “I remember going up there with Kanye. I’m signed to Kanye so in 2010, he was performing there. Obviously, nobody knew who I was. This was before I put my [debut] album out. I remember looking around and equating ‘Saturday Night Live’ with a certain level of success. Kanye, obviously, is not only a mentor, but also my favorite artist. You can just imagine what that feels like, to come back, and it’s like, I made it to ‘SNL’ on my own.”
Speaking of ‘Ye, Sean Don also expounded on why their bond is a unique one, by describing the day they met.
“It’s like the rap fairytale,” he said. “I used to do a radio show every Friday at [a Detroit] radio station where MCs would battle each other. Whoever won that would get to rap on air…That built a relationship for me at the radio station and taught me how to rap under pressure.”
Sean found a way in the station that day and stopped his idol for a moment of his time. “I ended up rapping for like 10 minutes straight,” Sean recalled. “He saw the potential. It took a couple of years after that, but that was the initial meeting point. Two years later, I was signed to him.”
Now, Sean is gearing up to release his fourth album I Decided. on Feb. 3. According to the G.O.O.D. Music MC, it’s a concept-driven LP.
“I realized my whole life changed when I Decided. that life is about making the right decisions or the wrong decisions,” he explained. “The story of the album is, imagine going through life and you’ve made all the wrong decisions your whole life. You get to the end of your life and you say, ‘God, I did everything wrong. I didn’t work it out with the love of my life. I messed up with my parents. I’m not doing the job I was sent here for. Imagine something happens and you get one chance to redo it all. The album is basically a chance, to have that wisdom of an old man while you’re young, and going through life to figure it out.”
Following the album’s release, Sean will embark on his “I Decided. Tour,” starting Mar. 17 in Houston.
