Big Sean

Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper, songwriter and actor who emerged from the Detroit hip‑hop scene in the mid‑2000s. Born on March 25, 1988, in Santa Monica, California, and raised in Detroit by his mother, a school teacher, and his grandmother, a World War II veteran, he cultivated his lyrical talent through weekly rap battles on local radio and caught the attention of Kanye West after a bold freestyle at a Detroit station. West signed him to GOOD Music in 2007, and Big Sean's first mixtape, Finally Famous: The Mixtape, quickly earned media coverage and set the stage for a string of successful releases. His debut studio album Finally Famous (2011) and its follow‑up Hall of Fame (2013) both peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, delivering hit singles such as “My Last” and “Beware”. The 2015 album Dark Sky Paradise marked his first chart‑topping effort, propelled by the octuple‑platinum single “I Don’t Fuck with You” and a suite of other platinum tracks featuring artists like Drake, Kanye West, and John Legend. Subsequent albums I Decided (2017) and Detroit 2 (2020) also debuted at number one, confirming his status as a mainstay of modern hip‑hop, while his 2024 project Better Me Than You showed a more introspective side amid mixed reviews. Beyond music, Big Sean has ventured into acting, lending his voice to animated series and films, and established the Sean Anderson Foundation to support Detroit youth, a testament to his commitment to community empowerment. In his personal life, he has been in a long‑term relationship with singer Jhené Aiko since 2016, and the couple welcomed their first child, a son, on November 8 2022, adding a new chapter to the artist’s multifaceted journey.