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
Recorded2010–2011
StudioParamount Recording Studio, 4220 Studios (Hollywood, California)
The Loft (Detroit, Michigan)
Boogie Down Chinatown Studios (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
CRC Studio (Chicago, Illinois)
Legend Studios, Manhattan Sound Recording Studios, The Mercer, The Record Plant Studios (New York, New York)
Westlake Studios (West Hollywood, California)
GenreHip hop
Length50:40
Label
Producer
Big Sean chronology
Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big
(2010)		 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 (Ass)"
    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)". The album received generally positive reviews from critics. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 87,000 copies in its first week.[1]

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.[2] The song debuted at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[3] The song also topped the Billboard's Top Rap Songs, becoming his first number-one hit on the chart in the United States.[4]

"Marvin & Chardonnay" featuring Kanye West and Roscoe Dash, was sent to radio on July 12, 2011,[5] 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.[3]

"Dance (Ass)" was sent to urban radio as the album's third single on September 20, 2011. The song was produced by Da Internz.[6] The remix to "Dance (Ass)", featuring Nicki Minaj, was sent to urban radio on October 18, 2011.[7]

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.[8] The song peaked at number 92 on the US Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart.[9]

The album's second promotional single, "What Goes Around", was released on May 20, 2011. No I.D. also produced the track.[10] The song failed to chart.

The album's third promotional single, "So Much More", was released on June 14, 2011.[11] No I.D. also produced the track.

Critical response
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic69/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
The A.V. Club(C)[14]
Consequence of Sound[15]
HipHopDX[16]
The New York Times(favorable)[17]
Now[18]
Pitchfork(6.1/10.0)[19]
RapReviews(6.5/10)[20]
Rolling Stone[21]
XXL (XL)[22]

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".[23] AllMusic's David Jeffries gave the album four out of five stars, saying "Fun, inventive, swaggering, and smart, Finally Famous is an exciting debut."[13] 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."[16]

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."[14] Kevin Ritchie of Now gave the album two out of five stars, saying "Kanye West protégé 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."[18] 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."[19]

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."[21] 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."[20]

Commercial performance

Finally Famous debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, selling 87,000 copies in its first week of release.[1] This became Sean's first US top-ten debut.[1] In its second week, the album dropped to number nine on the chart, selling an additional 27,000 copies.[24] 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.[25]

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)
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)[26]
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)[27]
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
Finally Famous — 10th anniversary
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
7."Dance (Ass) (Remix)" (featuring Nicki Minaj)
  • Anderson
  • Onika Maraj
  • Palacios
  • Clark
Da Internz3:38
16."Freshman 10" (Bonus Track)
  • Anderson
  • Chauncey Hollis
  • Brook Oba Rowland
  • Daoud Anthony
  • Westen Weiss
3:52
Total length:62:00

Notes

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

Sample credits

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[34] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. Caulfield, Keith (July 6, 2011). "Beyonce Notches 4th Billboard 200 No. 1 with '4'". Billboard. Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  2. "Big Sean featuring Chris Brown – My Last, listen at Rap-Up". Website. Rap-Up. February 7, 2011. Retrieved February 8, 2011.
  3. "Big Sean – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  4. "Big Sean – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  5. "®R&R :: Going for Adds™ :: Urban". gfa.radioandrecords.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-16.
  6. "Urban/UAC Future Releases | R&B, Hip Hop, Release Schedule and Street Dates |". Allaccess.com. Archived from the original on October 25, 2011. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  7. AllAccess.com
  8. "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.
  9. "Big Sean – Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  10. Huynh, Davis (May 20, 2011). "Big Sean – What Goes Around (Produced by No I.D.)". Website. Hype Beast. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  11. "Single Cover: Big Sean "So Much More"". Complex. 2011-06-04. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
  12. "Finally Famous: Tha Album Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved July 5, 2011.
  13. Jeffries, David. "allmusic ((( Finally Famous – Big Sean > Review )))". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  14. Martins, Chris (June 28, 2011). "Big Sean: Finally Famous". The A.V. Club. Chicago, Illinois: The Onion. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  15. Coplan, Chris (June 27, 2011). "Album Review: Big Sean – Finally Famous". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  16. 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.
  17. Chinen, Nate (June 27, 2011). "New Music". The New York Times. pp. 1–2. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  18. Ritchie, Kevin. "Big Sean – Finally Famous". Now. NOW Communications. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  19. "Big Sean: Finally Famous". Pitchfork. 2011-07-06. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  20. Padania, Jesal (June 28, 2011). "Big Sean :: Finally Famous :: G.O.O.D. Music/Def Jam". RapReviews. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  21. Trammel, Matthew (June 28, 2011). "Finally Famous by Big Sean". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  22. "Big Sean, Finally Famous". XXL. Townsquare Media. 2012-02-10. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  23. "Finally Famous Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  24. Keith Caulfield (July 13, 2011). "Beyonce's '4' Stays Atop Billboard 200, Lloyd Snags Top Debut". Billboard.
  25. "Gold & Platinum". Recording Industry Association of America.
  26. "Finally Famous (Super Deluxe Edition) by Big Sean". iTunes. January 2011.
  27. "iTunes – Music – Finally Famous (Super Deluxe Edition) by Big Sean". iTunes Store UK. 28 June 2011.
  28. "Big Sean Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  29. "Big Sean Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  30. "Big Sean Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  31. "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  32. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2011". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  33. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2012". Billboard. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  34. "American album certifications – Big Sean – Finally Famous". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
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