The single Big Sean called his “soundtrack for the underdog”
Like many other MCs, Big Sean has often been relegated to the realm of the fallen artist. When he first emerged in the late 2000s as an artist signed by Kanye West, he showed a lot of promise, but he is now considered one of the countless 2010s rappers who fell off the face of the earth.
Since the days of Roc-a-Fella and G-Unit, it has been evident that being signed to a powerhouse label doesn’t guarantee success. However, Big Sean didn’t even acquire a cult following as so many quieter hip-hop artists do.
Instead, since 2013, he has been in a limbo where many other artists can be found. From Chance The Rapper to Wiz Khalifa and Rae Sremmurd, it’s not a great place to be. However, in 2016, Big Sean released a track that, in his eyes, is a “soundtrack for the underdog.”
Ahead of his fourth album, I Decided, the Detroit emcee hit fans with the project’s lead single, ‘Bounce Back’. The Metro Boomin’-produced song ended up being Big Sean’s highest-selling single of all time and signalled a potential return to the mainstream for him.
The single saw the ‘Grind All My Life’ rhymer admit that he had lost up to that point in his career and even suggested that he was ready to re-enter the mainstream. The single’s album cover shows a massive poster of him in the woods with graffiti reading “TAKE NO L’s.”
During the song, he raps about his losses and “L’s” and suggests that he is ready to “bounce back.” In one segment, he rhymes, “Last night took an L, but tonight I bounce back / Wake up every morning, by the night, I count stacks.”
The ability to adapt, reinvent and revitalise yourself is essential, whether in life or in the music industry. However, even after the song’s release, Big Sean insisted that he didn’t want to lecture people with his lyrics. During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the Hall Of Fame creator explained, “You don’t want to overdo it. I’m not trying to sit here and preach to people.”
He continued, “You can get [a message] across with a song like ‘Bounce Back.’ We’ve all bounced back from something before, so that fits my story perfect, but you never would have known that from hearing it by itself.”
Still, although he admitted he didn’t want to lecture people. While describing the song and analysing it, he did have one assertion. During a discussion with online magazine Genius, Big Sean described it as a “ soundtrack.” More specifically, he characterised the track as a “soundtrack for the underdog”, adding, “The underdog has been through that, the underdog has took L’s, bounced back, came back harder like a champion.”
The Detroit native recalled an exchange he had with his manager, disclosing, “I remember my manager told me, ‘You know what happens to the underdog? It eventually turns into the big dog.’ That always stuck with me, just that mentality.”
Many hip-hop songs, such as 2Pac’s ‘Keep Ya Head Up’, have been made to boost those who feel like they are down and encourage listeners to overcome the hurdles they face with strength.