Review Summary: Greatest of all Bigs? Greatest of all Seans? Not quite...
Poor Sean. Had he become mainstream first, nobody would have thought that he sounded like Drake. Then again, he and Drake while sharing the same "hashtag" rap style, differ considerably. Thank Me Later had more introspection. Finally Famous is more about style over substance, indulging in partying rather than actual reflection.
For one, being a complete party animal is not a bad thing for Sean. Fans will be happy to know that the album is filled with basic yet smart one-liners delivered with Sean's quirky yet charismatic delivery ("My crew is who I’d be widdy-be-wid-it/ Rosay I sippity-sip-it/ I’m Quagmire I *** hoes/ My cashflow I giggity-get-it"). One could argue he sounds more swag-tastic than Drake.
Yet it is hard to distinguish Sean in a world where every rapper mentions cash, clothes, hoes, and being famous. Sure he might have flow on his side, yet the repetitiveness of the album becomes tiresome. Even at 12 tracks, it starts to wear off halfway. It gets to the point where it feels Sean is obsessed with sex (as testified by a song that repeats "a**" over and over). And after all that talk about life in the nightclub, you would wish he make a song more suitable for a sunny day.
But Sean doesn't want to talk about sunny days. The idea of being famous is centered at night time when the real action happens. And the lavish production drives that point. With glossy synthesizers and piano, Finally Famous does feel rich and full of texture. And guests like The-Dream and John Legend give it extra oomph. If only Sean's rhymes were this rich, then he could be heading for something beyond fame.
