Big Sean Discusses Cruel Summer, His 'Mercy' Verse, His Next Album, 'Swerve' & More

But for some of his big time features, Big Sean has been pretty quiet this year. In an interview with Complex, the Detroit MC discusses the much anticipated Cruel Summer album, his crazy ‘Mercy‘ verse that was originally a freestyle, and his popular new ad-lib ‘Swerve’. He also spoke on his sophomore album and recalled reactions when he played it for J. Cole, Common & others. Hit the jump for some quotes.

Read the FULL Interview here.

Kendrick Lamar Shakes Up The Super Bowl With Bold Drake Diss And Surprise Guests

Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl 59 halftime performance was nothing short of legendary, leaving fans buzzing with surprise cameos and bold moments that took his long-running feud with Drake to new heights. Kicking off with an unreleased song snippet and followed by “Squabble Up” from his latest album GNX, Kendrick immediately set the tone for a game-changing performance. Fans eagerly waited to see if Kendrick would play his diss track Not Like Us, especially with Drake's ongoing lawsuit against him and his label for defamation and harassment. Lamar's performance included an unexpected appearance by SZA and a quirky cameo from Serena Williams, along with Samuel L. Jackson’s comedic interruptions, all building the suspense around the Drake drama. In the middle of his performance, Kendrick turned up the heat, looking straight into the camera and directly addressing Drake with his famous lyrics, “I heard you like them young," as fans held their breath. Despite the tension, Kendrick censored himself when it came time to call Drake a "certified lover boy" and avoided saying “pedophile,” which had been widely speculated. Social media lit up with mixed reactions, with some fans mocking the performance as a "mid mashup" and others noting the intense hostility toward Drake. With the hashtag #KendrickBowl trending, it’s clear that Kendrick’s performance was a cultural moment that pushed boundaries—but has he gone too far, or is this just another chapter in hip-hop history? Only time will tell, and Drake has yet to respond.

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Which rapper from G.O.O.D. is killing the raps on Cruel Summer the most?
I’m giving them bars for sure. Pusha is like that beast that you let off the leash and he just tear everything up. CyHi. Common. Of course ‘Ye always bring that fresh, new stuff to the game. The whole fam. True albums should be the soundtrack to your life and fit different moods.
What can people expect from your upcoming sophomore album?
Well, we just got the first single. I’m not going to tell you who’s all on it. Dope ass artists on it, though, for sure. It’s great. It’s something that connects. When I was playing it for Common, he was losing his mind. J. Cole was blown away. It really is elevating, taking it to a different level. I don’t even want to hype it up or talk too much like, “Yeah, my album is the shit!” I just can’t wait for everyone to hear what I’ve been doing, what I’ve been cooking up. We’re figuring it all out. I don’t know the title of the album. I know it’s coming out this year.
Is it true that your “Mercy” verse started out as a random freestyle for Kanye?
Yeah, I was really freestyling with Kanye backstage at the Watch the Throne tour and he was like, “Man, you got to say this on the record.” I was like, “Man, I ain’t about to say that. I just put out ‘A$$.’ I don’t need to be talking about no ‘ass-quake, ass-tate.’” But I just laid it to see how it sounded and then for a while, there were no other verses on “Mercy.”
It was just my verse and we were vibing to it, so it naturally fit on there. I don’t really write any of my raps down. The same, Kanye don’t write any of his raps down. Common. It’s easy that way. For me, personally, I figure I will lose some of the inspiration in the time of me writing it down or I’ll say it a certain way because I wrote it a certain way. When I go in there and do it, it’s easier for me.
Where did you “Swerve” ad-lib come from? That’s a fan favorite now.

I just feel like that’s what I’m doing. I’m swerving around. Especially in the D-Town with whips everywhere in the city. That’s something my crew was saying a long time ago. I guess it’s something I brought to the forefront to where everybody can hear it. That’s what it’s all about, making new stuff up, making this elevated.
A lot of people criticize me because I be making up my own words sometimes in raps to rhyme, but I don’t understand how you can criticize someone trying to bring originality to the game. I think that’s really bitch-made to hate on somebody who rose up out their city and had a dream and made it happen and made their parents proud and supporting their family off of it too. You can hate, but I’m going to keep making this paper, though.