Big Sean Talks 'I Decided.,' Flint Water Crisis on 'The Daily Show'

In preparation for his forthcoming album I Decided., Big Sean appeared on “The Daily Show” Tuesday (Jan. 24) to talk about the project and his various charitable efforts.

Since last year, the Detroit rapper’s Sean Anderson Foundation has been focused on the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. Now, according to Sean, Flint will also be a part of his LP, which is due Feb. 3.

“We’ve raised just about $100,000 for Flint…through the foundation, to seek the proper care, not just give [people] water,” he said. “On top of that, the last song on my album [features]…the Flint Chosen Choir, a choir from Flint, to show support from that side too, creatively. It’s a song called ‘Bigger Than Me.’ Once you hear it, you’ll see why I wanted them to be on that. I was just happy to have Flint be a part of my album in that way, as well.”

But Flint’s crisis isn’t the only issue that his foundation is focusing on. The charitable organization is also working on building young moguls with a special program. “One of the programs we do is Mogul Prep,” he said. “It’s actually a curriculum that we’re looking to integrate in the school systems. It’s already in a lot of Detroit schools and Baltimore schools.” As part of the initiative, Sean has invited publishers and publicists to speak with kids. “They were blown away by knowing the different options,” he added. “You could see their eyes lighting up as they heard about these different jobs.”

While Sean tackles local issues, he’s also concentrating on global matters through another part of his foundation. “In Detroit, there’s an academy with young kids and we’ve given them knapsacks full of school supplies they normally wouldn’t be able to have,” he said. “They have pen pals in Soweto, [South] Africa. We send knapsacks to their pen pals too and it gives these kids relationships that they always keep in touch with. It’s been over 5,000 knapsacks we’ve been able to do.”

Circling back to the Flint issue, Sean stressed the fact that the efforts aren’t over and current events show that to be true. This week, President Donald Trump ordered a freeze on Environmental Protection Agency grants, contracts, and communications, causing many in Michigan to fear for Flint’s ongoing problems with clean water.

“It’s not even close to being over,” said Sean. “It wasn’t a natural disaster. It’s something that could’ve been prevented and should’ve been prevented. It’s just disgusting to think about the damages these families and kids have to go through with lead poisoning.”