Finally Famous (Big Sean album)

Finally Famous is the debut studio album by American rapper Big Sean. It was released on June 28, 2011, by GOOD Music and Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions took place from 2010 to 2011, with Kanye West serving as the only executive producer on the album. The record serves as Big Sean's first studio release, under the whole Finally Famous series, following these mixtapes such as Finally Famous Vol. 1: The Mixtape (2007), Finally Famous Vol. 2: UKNOWBIGSEAN (2009) and Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big (2010).

Finally Famous
Studio album by
Big Sean
ReleasedJune 28, 2011
Recorded
GenreHip hop
Length50:40
Label
Producer
Big Sean chronology
Finally Famous
(2011)		 Detroit
(2012)
Singles from Finally Famous
  1. "My Last"
    Released: March 1, 2011
  2. "Marvin & Chardonnay"
    Released: July 12, 2011
  3. "Dance (A$$)"
    Released: September 20, 2011

The album was supported by three singles: "My Last" featuring Chris Brown, "Marvin & Chardonnay" featuring West and Roscoe Dash, and "Dance (Ass)".

Singles

The commercial debut single, titled "My Last", was released on March 1, 2011. The song features guest vocals from American recording artist Chris Brown, while the production was handled by No I.D.[1] The song debuted at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[2] The song also topped the Billboard's Top Rap Songs, becoming his first number-one hit on the chart in the United States.[3]

"Marvin & Chardonnay" featuring Kanye West and Roscoe Dash, was sent to radio on July 12, 2011,[4] as the album's second single. The song was produced by Pop Wansel. The song peaked at number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[2]

"Dance (Ass)" was sent to urban radio as the album's third single on September 20, 2011. The song was produced by Da Internz.[5] The remix to "Dance (Ass)", featuring Nicki Minaj, was sent to urban radio on October 18, 2011.[6]

Promotional singles

The album's first promotional single, "I Do It", was released via digital download on May 10, 2011. No I.D. also produced the track, alongside The Legendary Traxster.[7] The song peaked at number 92 on the US Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart.[8]

The album's second promotional single, "What Goes Around", was released on May 20, 2011. No I.D. also produced the track.[9] The song failed to chart.

The album's third promotional single, "So Much More", was released on June 14, 2011.[10] No I.D. also produced the track.

Critical response
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[12]
The A.V. Club(C)[13]
Consequence of Sound[14]
HipHopDX[15]
The New York Times(favorable)[16]
Now[17]
Pitchfork(6.1/10.0)[18]
RapReviews(6.5/10)[19]
Rolling Stone[20]
XXL (XL)[21]

Finally Famous was met with generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 69, based on 20 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[22] AllMusic's David Jeffries gave the album four out of five stars, saying "Fun, inventive, swaggering, and smart, Finally Famous is an exciting debut."[12] William E. Ketchum III of HipHopDX gave the album four out of five stars, saying "The final product is a solid debut that shows enough of Sean's skill and personality to keep listeners stay tuned, with the room for growth for higher expectations next time around."[15]

Chris Martins of The A.V. Club gave the album a C, saying "Complexity is a hallmark of any good artist, but Sean seems distracted by clichéd ideas of identity."[13] Kevin Ritchie of Now gave the album two out of five stars, saying "Kanye West protegé and “hashtag rap” inventor Big Sean basks in the glow of Chicago producer No I.D.’s uplifting, soul-inflected beats on his debut album, an enjoyable enough summertime record that showcases the Detroit MC’s ability to trade punchlines with pop choruses."[17] Sam Hockley-Smith of Pitchfork gave the album a 6.1 out of 10, saying "We can only hope that for album two, Sean will step out from the herculean shadows of the artists he surrounds himself with and learn the art of subtlety."[18]

Matthew Trammell of Rolling Stone gave the album three and a half stars out of five, saying "Finally Famous is a choice summertime rap record, complete with bright, breezy synth beats and cameos from Chris Brown and Mr. West himself."[20] Jesal Padania of RapReviews gave the album a 6.5 out of 10, saying "On an eleven track album, the production values are high, the choruses are generally pretty great, and it is without a doubt one of the more enjoyable records to bump in 2011."[19]

Commercial performance

On the week of July 16, 2011, Finally Famous debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, selling 87,000 copies in its first week of release.[23][24] In its second week, the album dropped to number nine on the chart, selling an additional 27,000 copies that week.[25] On October 25, 2017, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over a million copies in the United States.[26]

Track listing
Finally Famous — Standard edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Intro"
1:14
2."I Do It"
3:35
3."My Last" (featuring Chris Brown)
No I.D.4:14
4."Don't Tell Me You Love Me"
No I.D.3:56
5."Wait for Me" (featuring Lupe Fiasco)
3:57
6."Marvin & Chardonnay" (featuring Kanye West and Roscoe Dash)
  • Pop Wansel
  • Mike Dean (add.)
3:42
7."Dance (Ass)"
Da Internz3:17
8."Get It (DT)"
The Neptunes3:27
9."Memories (Part II)" (featuring John Legend)
No I.D.4:35
10."High" (featuring Wiz Khalifa and Chiddy Bang)
Xaphoon Jones4:20
11."Live This Life" (featuring The-Dream)
No I.D.4:18
12."So Much More"
  • Anderson
  • Wilson
No I.D.5:55
Total length:50:40
Finally Famous — Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[27]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."What Goes Around"
  • Anderson
  • Wilson
No I.D.4:19
14."Celebrity" (featuring Dwele)
  • Filthy Rockwell
  • No I.D. (co.)
3:44
15."My House"
3:33
16."100 Keys" (featuring Rick Ross and Pusha T)
WrighTrax3:49
Total length:65:35
Finally Famous — iTunes version (bonus track)
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Dance (Ass) (Remix)" (featuring Nicki Minaj)
Da Internz3:40
Total length:54:20
Finally Famous — iTunes deluxe edition (bonus videos)[28]
No.TitleLength
18."My Last" (featuring Chris Brown)5:15
19."I Do It"3:35
20."Marvin & Chardonnay" (featuring Kanye West and Roscoe Dash)3:34
21."Dance (Ass) (Remix)" (Revised) (featuring Nicki Minaj)3:53

Notes

  • (co.) denotes co-producer
  • (add.) denotes additional production

Sample credits

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[33] Platinum 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References
  1. "Big Sean featuring Chris Brown – My Last, listen at Rap-Up". Website. Rap-Up. February 7, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  2. "Big Sean – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  3. "Big Sean – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  4. http://gfa.radioandrecords.com/publishGFA/GFANextPage.asp?sDate=07/12/2011&Format=5 Archived 2012-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Urban/UAC Future Releases | R&B, Hip Hop, Release Schedule and Street Dates |". Allaccess.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  6. AllAccess.com
  7. "New Music: Big Sean – "I Do It" (Available on iTunes Tomorrow!) | News | Big Sean | Artists | Def Jam". Island Def Jam. 2011-05-09. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  8. "Big Sean – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  9. Huynh, Davis (May 20, 2011). "Big Sean – What Goes Around (Produced by No I.D.)". Website. Hype Beast. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  10. "Single Cover: Big Sean "So Much More"". Complex. 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  11. "Finally Famous: Tha Album Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  12. Jeffries, David. "allmusic ((( Finally Famous – Big Sean > Review )))". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  13. Martins, Chris (June 28, 2011). "Big Sean: Finally Famous". The A.V. Club. Chicago, Illinois: The Onion. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  14. Coplan, Chris (June 27, 2011). "Album Review: Big Sean – Finally Famous". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  15. Ketchum III, William E. (June 20, 2011). "Big Sean – Finally Famous: The Album". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Archived from the original on July 12, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  16. Chinen, Nate (June 27, 2011). "New Music". The New York Times. pp. 1–2. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  17. Ritchie, Kevin. "Big Sean – Finally Famous". Now. NOW Communications. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  18. "Big Sean: Finally Famous". Pitchfork. 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  19. Padania, Jesal (June 28, 2011). "Big Sean :: Finally Famous :: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam". RapReviews. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  20. Trammel, Matthew (June 28, 2011). "Finally Famous by Big Sean". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  21. "Big Sean, Finally Famous". XXL. Townsquare Media. 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  22. "Finally Famous Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  23. Caulfield, Keith (July 6, 2011). "Beyonce Notches 4th Billboard 200 No. 1 with '4'". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  24. Langhorne, Cyrus. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 11/6/2011". HipHopDX. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  25. Keith Caulfield (July 13, 2011). "Beyonce's '4' Stays Atop Billboard 200, Lloyd Snags Top Debut".
  27. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/finally-famous-super-deluxe/id474876755
  28. "iTunes – Music – Finally Famous (Super Deluxe Edition) by Big Sean". iTunes Store UK.
  29. "Big Sean Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Canadian Albums for Big Sean. July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  30. "Big Sean Album & Song Chart History". Billboard 200 for Big Sean. July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  31. "Big Sean Album & Song Chart History". Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Big Sean. July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  32. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  33. "American album certifications – Big Sean – Finally Famous". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 27, 2017. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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