Big Sean Tearfully Recalls Almost Giving Up on Rap After Signing to G.O.O.D. Music: ‘It Was a Moment’

The rapper said his mother was his "guardian angel" that pushed him to chase his dreams of being a successful rapper.

August 3, 2024

Big Sean walks red carpet at movie premiere — (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images)

Big Sean was moved to tears while talking about almost giving up on his rap career.

On Friday, Sean Don sat with Charlamagne Tha God for the latest episode of his Out of Context interview series. One of the topics of discussion was the rapper's reflection on his journey and how he nearly quit due to a bout with depression. According to Sean, he had a list of record labels that he wanted to sign to, with the first being Ye's G.O.O.D. Music.

He eventually got the chance to rap for Ye and sign with him, but within that first year of joining the label, Sean said he was pretty depressed and wanted to give up on his dream of being a rapper. Charlamagne asked if that applied to his life as well, but Sean clarified that he wanted to quit his career.

"Just on the rap," Sean told Charlamagne."Of course when you depressed you always think about killing yourself. I wasn't being that dramatic then, but I was just like, 'Okay, I'm done.' I remember I applied for community college. I remember my grandma was like, 'Just apply for community college.'I just remember my mom being like, 'What are you doing?' It was a moment, dawg."

Sean then began tearing up and explained how his life could've gone "either way," but he was thankful for his mother, who was one of his "guardian angels" and pushed him to keep chasing his dream. He appreciated how open-minded she was and never complained when it came to supporting him by paying for studio time and more.

Big Sean has a new self-help book coming outthat's inspired by the lessons he's learned from the "elevated thinkers" in his family. On October 8, Sean will be dropping Go Higher: Five Practices for Purpose, Success, and Inner Peace.

"I always been about speaking from the heart, following your intuition, [and] checking in with yourself mentally because that's how I was raised," Sean said in a statement. "That's the upbringing I had that was surrounding me with my family. There were a lot of elevated thinkers and they would give me these gems and these books that I eventually read. If it wasn't for them lessons and methods and things that I applied to my life, I for sure wouldn't be here today. Period."