Deen believes music is like herpes: you never know when it will strike.
I’ll be damned. If it isn’t Medium Sean switchin his steez up on us. Hate to admit it, but this shit kinda works. Now I completely understand that we (who are “we”?) aren’t supposed to admit to messing with Sean the Rapper’s music, but any video/song that can inspire a writer as cynical as me to even consider scribing a post devoid of pure slander about Sean has to be something worth listening to.
Now I know what you’re thinking: “this guy isn’t about to write a defense of Medium Sean – to which I’ll respond, “I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing right now.” But I’d suggest you stick around and see where this goes. I’m excited.
So yeah, Sean is kind of a shitty rapper. Let me rephrase that – Sean is a shite rapper. However, originality scores MEGA points in my book. Originality is my excuse for being a member of the Future fanclub – let’s face it, Future was the first guy to use Autotune to make his voice sound muddier. That sort of thinking and innovation impresses me.
Similarly, Sean the Rapper was probably the most prominent proponent of that silly “hashtag” flow that’s thankfully dying out, but the man never really got a chance to eat off that shit.* He killed that shit on one of his mixtapes (Super Dupa) long before it infected the airwaves. The YMCMB folks and everyone else beat him to a retail date so he was shit outta luck. That basically left him with his naturally mediocre flow, which happens to be serviceable enough to impress Kanye (understandable, given his meh flow), who in turn foisted said mediocre rapper on the rest of us. For the record, Sean actually has BARS – I just happen to have a low tolerance for his FLOW and delivery.
Sean the Rapper’s album wasn’t half bad for what it was: a pop rap album with a few earnest moments sprinkled in. The hits were fun to listen to at pre-parties and in the club, and he did us all the favor of giving Nicki’s ass a starring role in the “Ass (Remix)” video. We oughta be thankful for that. Lord knows Drake failed to fulfill that manly obligation. Basically, the man knows his role and plays it well enough. I can’t fault him for that shit. It’s your fault if you take him seriously enough to get irritated by his music.
I try to avoid song and video previews, but I noticed that this one was 1:30 minutes long, so I figured I’d get to hear a verse and hook. I was right. I also think that I’m hearing a Barry White sample mixed with today’s drums-du-jour and I gotta say, the shit sounds fly. If this is Sean’s new direction image and sound-wise, then I’ll probably enjoy his Detroit mixtape when it drops on September 5th. You just can’t go wrong rapping over some shit, no matter how stilted your delivery may be.
Besides, this re-imaging definitely beats Wiz Khalifa’s “American hippie/desecrate Jimi Hendrix” approach to the same task. When it comes to limited rappers, image may not be everything, but it’s damn important and Detroit pimp is so much better than dirty rich hippie. Oh and Sean’s kinda spittin on this shit. Pause.
Whew! That was exhausting. Kinda like Wale’s music. But I think I finally achieved my year-long goal of cramming 35 back-handed compliments into one post. I’m so proud of me right now. Thanks. Hold your applause folks…
* – Note that I didn’t label him the “greatest” hashtag rapper or the originator of the shit. That’s some subjective shit I don’t have time to argue about, but shouts to Sean P anyway.
