Dear Big Sean
Anyone ever see the movie 'Boys Don't Cry' with Hilary Swank? For those of you less cinematically-inclined readers, the film is about a non-operative transgender woman in Nebraska who takes on the persona of a man, and later gets beaten and raped. Vicious imagery aside, the title is what I have to take away. Boys don't cry. And they damn sure don't cry if they're rappers, do they? Rap is supposed to be all about machismo and being a braggadocious male. You can't show emotion in hip-hop if it isn't anger, misogyny or hopelessness! Real rappers don't cry! You can't shed a tear unless either A) your mother, B) your child, or C) one of your homies dies. The opposite, the increasing vulnerability of rappers (let's leave Drake out of this) why the above video is so huge to me, Sean.
I'll admit it, Sean. Your music, while vapid and repetitive at times, is catchy and easy to listen to. That explains why you have so many fans. I get that. What I didn't know is how ingratiated you were to your fans' whims in that video. No rapper over the past few years has been comfortable enough with the supposed masculinity that comes standard with hip-hop, to display their emotions so openly. Rappers are so focused on their egos that they forget how easily they can be destroyed. Sean, take a look at all of the rappers you've known. *waits* How many of those SOB's are either working at Safeway, trapping, or putting out their 15th mixtape to 15 downloads (14 of which were family)? How many rappers have had a hit record, only to be back in the soup kitchen months later? How many rappers have you seen here today and gone tomorrow, without a bat of an eyelash? *waits* My guess is that you lost count before I even finished the question.
Sean, the point here is that you clearly have reached a level of stardom that belies your talent, AND you haven't let it turn you into a Heartless (word to Kingdom Hearts). That you can be vulnerable with your fans shows just how much you appreciate the fame that has fallen in your lap. Regardless of your content, you're in hip-hop for the right reasons. Forget being cool! If every rapper had could show this type of emotion, I shudder to think how powerful hip-hop as a collective would be. Sean, you've made this tour of stardom your own personal party, and you can cry if you want to. Just don't go all DMX on us and... Yeah, let's not get on that either...