On Thursday (July 18), Big Sean confirmed that his sixth studio album, Better Me Than You, will debut on Aug. 9 via Def Jam Recordings. The announcement came alongside a new single titled “Yes,” which offered fans an exciting taste of what he’s been working on lately.
Just over a minute long, the psychedelic trailer contained some of the same visual cues seen in the rapper’s mini-documentary, Clarity, and pre-release offering “Precision” — both of which came out in March. The words “clarity, focus, happiness and pressure” appeared in various colors before the screen panned to the album title.
The news followed closely on the heels of an unfinished version of Better Me Than You surfacing online, allegedly leaked by a Ye fan. They claimed it was a response to perceived jabs at the Chicago rapper during Big Sean’s “On The Radar” freestyle, which included lines like, “I got better things to do than find someone to beef with” and “I seen grown men get matching tattoos for the clout.”
The Detroit native later addressed the leaks during an Instagram Live session. “I know Ye wouldn’t do that because that’s trash. I know he wouldn’t do no s**t like that,” he said. “So whoever did that, just know it did f**k me up.”
Better Me Than You is billed as a follow-up to Detroit 2. Released in 2020, the LP contains surefire cuts like “Harder Than My Demons,” “Friday Night Cypher” and the Nipsey Hussle-assisted “Deep Reverence.” Lil Wayne, Eminem, Post Malone, Travis Scott, Young Thug and Ty Dolla Sign were among the other featuring artists.
Additionally, the “Beware” hitmaker has a book slated to come out in October. “Go Higher: Five Practices for Purpose, Success, and Inner Peace” is an interactive guidebook created to help readers achieve their utmost potential through five transformative practices. It will mark his first official literary piece outside of music.