Finally Famous (Big Sean album)

Finally Famous
Studio album by Big Sean
Released	June 28, 2011
Recorded	2010–11 Paramount 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)
Genre	Hip hop
Length	50:40
Label	GOOD Music Def Jam
Producer	Kanye West (also exec.) Boi-1da Xaphoon Jones The Neptunes No I.D. The Legendary Traxster WrighTrax Mike Dean Exile Filthy Rockwell Pop Wansel Key Wane Da Internz Kevin Randolph
Big Sean chronology
Finally Famous (2011) Detroit (2012)
Singles from Finally Famous
"My Last" Released: March 1, 2011 "Marvin & Chardonnay" Released: July 12, 2011 "Dance (A$$)" Released: September 20, 2011

Finally Famous is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Big Sean. It was released on June 28, 2011, by GOOD Music, with the distribution by Def Jam Recordings. It marks the first official release of this Finally Famous series, following by the release of his mixtape trilogies; including Finally Famous Vol. 1: The Mixtape (2007), Finally Famous Vol. 2: UKNOWBIGSEAN (2009), and Finally Famous Vol. 3: BIG (2010). Preceding the album's release, with the support of his three singles: "My Last" featuring Chris Brown, "Marvin & Chardonnay" featuring Kanye West and Roscoe Dash, and "Dance (A$$)".

Singles

Its lead single, titled "My Last" was officially released on March 1, 2011. The song features guest vocals from American recording artist Chris Brown, while it was produced by No I.D.^[1] The song debuted at number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[2] It also topped the US Top Rap Songs chart, 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 from the production duo Pop & Oak. The song peaked at number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[2]

"Dance (A$$)" was sent to urban radio as the album's third single on September 20, 2011. The song was produced by Da Internz.^[5] The remix to "Dance (A$$)", which features from a fellow American hip hop recording artist Nicki Minaj, was sent to urban radio on October 18, 2011.^[6]

Promotional singles

The album's promotional single, "I Do It" was released via digital download on May 10, 2011. The song was produced by No I.D. and 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. The song was produced by No I.D.^[9] The song has failed to chart.

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

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	(69/100)[11]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[12]
The A.V. Club	(C)[13]
Consequence of Sound	[14]
HipHopDX	[15]
The New York Times	(favorable)[16]
Now	[17]
Pitchfork Media	(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] David Jeffries of Allmusic 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 Media 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 ot 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

The album debuted at number 3 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 87,000 copies in the United States.^[23][24]

Track listing

Finally Famous —Standard edition
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Sean Anderson Kevin Randolph Dwane Weir II	Randolph Key Wane	1:14
2.	"I Do It"	Anderson Dion Wilson Samuel Lindley	No I.D. The Legendary Traxster	3:35
3.	"My Last" (featuring Chris Brown)	Anderson Christopher Brown Wilson James Harris III Terry Lewis	No I.D.	4:14
4.	"Don't Tell Me You Love Me"	Anderson Wilson Michael Posner	No I.D.	3:56
5.	"Wait for Me" (featuring Lupe Fiasco)	Anderson Wasalu Jaco Wilson Aleksander Manfredi	No I.D. Exile	3:57
6.	"Marvin & Chardonnay" (featuring Kanye West and Roscoe Dash)	Anderson Kanye West Jeffery Johnson Andrew "Pop" Wansel	Pop Wansel Mike Dean (add.)	3:42
7.	"Dance (A$$)"	Anderson Marcos Palacios Ernest Clark	Da Internz	3:17
8.	"Get It (DT)"	Anderson Pharrell Williams Chad Hugo	The Neptunes	3:27
9.	"Memories (Part II)" (featuring John Legend)	Anderson John Stephens Wilson	No I.D.	4:35
10.	"High" (featuring Wiz Khalifa and Chiddy Bang)	Anderson Cameron Thomaz Chidera Anamege Noah Beresin	Xaphoon Jones	4:20
11.	"Live This Life" (featuring The-Dream)	Anderson Terius Nash Wilson	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)[25]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"What Goes Around"	Anderson Wilson	No I.D.	4:19
14.	"Celebrity" (featuring Dwele)	Anderson Andwele Gardner Wilson	Filthy Rockwell No I.D. (co.)	3:44
15.	"My House"	Anderson Matthew Samuels	Boi-1da Arthur McArthur (add.)	3:33
16.	"100 Keys" (featuring Rick Ross and Pusha T)	Anderson William Roberts II Terrence Thornton Brian "WrighTrax" Wright	WrighTrax	3:49
Total length:				65:35

Finally Famous — iTunes version (bonus track)
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
17.	"Dance (A$$) (Remix)" (featuring Nicki Minaj)	Anderson Onika Maraj Palacios Clark	Da Internz	3:40
Total length:				54:20

Finally Famous — iTunes deluxe edition (bonus videos)[26]
No.	Title	Length
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 (A$$) (Remix)" (Revised) (featuring Nicki Minaj)	3:53

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

Samples

• "My Last" contains a sample of "Can You Stand the Rain" performed by New Edition.
• "Don't Tell Me You Love Me" contains a sample of "Breakeven" performed by The Script.
• "Wait for Me" contains a sample of "It's Too Late" performed by Wilson Pickett.
• "Marvin & Chardonnay" contains an interpolation of "Amazing" performed by Kanye West.
• "Dance (A$$)" contains a sample of "U Can't Touch This" performed by MC Hammer, and contains the elements from "Back That Thang Up" performed by Juvenile.
• "High" contains a sample of "Fighter Plane" performed by Ellie Goulding.
• "So Much More" contains a sample of "Been This Way Before" performed by Roger Troutman.
• "Celebrity" contains a sample of "The Only Thing I Would Wish For" performed by Angela Bofill.
• "My House" contains a sample of "Ain't There Something Money Can't Buy" performed by Young-Holt Unlimited.

Charts

Chart (2011)	Peak position
Canadian Albums Chart[27]	20
US Billboard 200[28]	3
US R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[29]	2

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
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. 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 Media. 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. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/finally-famous-super-deluxe/id474876755
26. "iTunes – Music – Finally Famous (Super Deluxe Edition) by Big Sean". iTunes Store UK.
27. "Big Sean Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Canadian Albums for Big Sean. Prometheus Global Media. July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
28. "Big Sean Album & Song Chart History". Billboard 200 for Big Sean. Prometheus Global Media. July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
29. "Big Sean Album & Song Chart History". Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums for Big Sean. Prometheus Global Media. July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2011.