Big Sean has a knack for hits. The artist has popped up on many big hip-hop bangers over the last few years, and his place on Kanye West’s G.O.O.D music roster has no doubt been fruitful for both parties.
Sean had notable contributions to mega tracks like ‘Clique’ and ‘Mercy’ as well as lending his name to songs by break out rappers like Chief Keef on ‘I Don’t Like’. In 2013 he found himself in the spotlight once again for the song ‘Control’, which featured a verse from Kendrick Lamar.
However, aside from ‘Dance (A$$)’ which took over clubs for a brief moment in time, he has yet to convert his potential to becoming a big name in his own right.
Thus the question around Big Sean’s headlining Australian tour was, could he stand up as a solo artist away from the crutch of big names?
The rapper opted for Aussie MC Monchichi to open for him on his Sydney leg of the tour. Monchichi strongly channels the A$AP Mob with his music, in particular the Pitchfork and blogosphere darling A$AP Ferg, with his dark-trap infused production and down-beat vibe.
The south-west Sydney artist could best be described as raw. On his busier tracks his flows were a tad awkward, however he was hard not to like during the more stripped-back songs. Monchichi’s onstage demeanor was very laid-back but not lacking in enthusiasm. It was very clear that he was having a blast on stage, making the crowd want to as well.
Monchichi was at his most effortless during ‘Purple Flowers’, coming into his own over the slow beat. Stripping away the intricate high hat patterns as well as the samples and top-end synths, which muddied his sound at times, Monchichi was able to coast across the track and demonstrate his ability to craft a catchy hook. The song showcased a laid-back ‘weed rap’ feel, a sound lacking from the Australian hip-hop scene that instead tends to favour busy production and high energy.
When Big Sean arrived he wasted no time getting straight to his hits, loading the front end of his set with tracks like the GOOD Summer lead single ‘Mercy’ and his signature track ‘Dance A$$’.
From the outset, the Detroit rapper demonstrated his easy charm and charisma that was cool without trying too hard. Based on the crowd’s enthusiastic engagement, Sean seemed to win everyone over.
The rapper showed a lot of pride for his home city of Detroit. Usually it was within the context of messages like “I’m blown away. I come all the way from Detroit and get audiences like this”. He also praised a young fan wearing a Detroit Pistons jacket, and even brought out the Detroit Lions football team mascot to dance.
Hits from his relatively young career, whether they were his or others, were never more than a song or two away. He reached back to the beginning with tracks ‘My Last’ and ‘I Do It’ through to his most recent releases ‘Control’ and singles from his new album Hall Of Fame. His set closed with ‘Clique’ and was met to a rapturous reception.
Overall the fans appeared to leave the venue pretty happy, however the set could have undoubtedly offered more. While Sean demonstrated an easy charm and his pre-eminent place as a pop rapper with strong melodies, he did not solidify his place as a headliner.
The 25-year-old performed some of his own material, but most of the set was made up of other artist’s songs that he featured on. During these collaborative tracks, the whole song would abruptly end when Sean’s part was over. This made the set disjointed, and added to the feeling that he could’ve given us more.
