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Switch Up (ft. Common) - Big Sean

A summer filled with fresh rap releases was capped with the much-anticipated sophomore offering from Detroit's Sean Anderson, Hall of Fame. Considering that Guap, the album's first single, dropped in November of 2012, it was a long wait. Guap was fresh, well-produced, and dumb: all elements critical to the success of a Big Sean release. The album's second single, released in April, strayed away from that formula.

Abandoning boyish flatbrimmed hats and hockey jerseys for a neat-collared white get-up, Switch Up's cover was a sign of things to come. Big Sean and his GOOD Music reps crafted a bizarre but culturally relevant distorted neon aesthetic that would characterize his album. I don't have a good link to identify the recent cultural interest with bright colors and "trippy" themes, but rave culture has enjoyed mainstream appreciation in recent months--probably not an effect of Big Sean album covers. Rather, his change in image was to acclimate to this new social obsession.

Thankfully, Sean Don stays true to his roots as a corny, silly lyricist over an echo-y No I.D.-aided track. Some highlights:

"D-Town I ride around, me and my dog like Charlie Brown"

"D-boy / Never sold but I got more lines than corduroy"

And Common, of poor quality feature notoriety (see: Get Em High (ft. Talib Kweli, Common) - Kanye West), manages to turn in a pretty strong offering on verse two.