Big Sean shows his rapping prowess for the third time with his latest studio album “Dark Sky Paradise”. The album released at midnight today. Staff member Marcellus Blount takes a look at the album and breaks it down track by track.

1. 1. Dark Sky (Skyscrapers): Sean starts the album strong right off the bat,  talking about his career and how he got to where he is now. The song overall reminds you of “Started From the Bottom” by Drake, but with a deeper feeling to it.
   2. Blessings (featuring Drake): A Drake feature is welcome on any song. The extended version even has Kanye, but Big Sean shines on his song. His flow matches perfectly with the Boi-1da/Vinylz Production. He goes the full length of telling us about the motive of his grandmother dying and having to provide. It’s easily one of the best on the album.
   3. All Your Fault (featuring Kanye West): This song reminded me of Jay-Z and Kanye’s Watch the Throne. Kanye bring his now usual controversy to the song: talking about Chris Brown, and Karrueche Tran’s Relationship. The most memorable part of the song, though, is when Kanye and Sean go bar-for-bar together. The only thing that’s missing from this track is Jay-Z.
   4. I Don’t F**k with you (featuring E-40): DJ Mustard’s infamous production style is clear from the start of the song. It’s appropriate though, because it’s more of  an anthem than a song to be taken seriously. Big Sean was Solid; E-40’s presence on the track is lacking however.
   5. Play No Games (featuring Chris Brown & Ty Dolla $ign): I liked this song. The sampling, done by Big Sean’s longtime friend Key Wane, goes perfectly with the song, and fits in the album. You can visualize Sean flirting with a girl stating all the pros of being with a person of his status. Chris Brown comes through with his normal chorus feature, and Ty Dolla $ign adds a verse to convey the point.
   6. Paradise: This song is like a freestyle on steroids. It contains no real structure but all conveniently wraps together to please the ear. Sean just raps for 3 minutes and 36 seconds. He surprisingly pulls it off too. Its just fun to listen to.
   7. Win Some, Lose Some: This has an uncredited Jhene Aiko appearance, but the song itself is about how things have changed from the beginning and people not being able to reach him like before. Big Sean shows how important his family, and friends are in his life. He also dedicates a couple lines to his ex-girlfriend , Naya Rivera, rapping about how she claimed he stole her ex. Its a great song, listenable and deep at the same time.
   8. Stay Down: It took me a while to figure out why this song was right after the mellowness of Win Some, Lose Some. Its still a good song, but it doesn’t really fit in its slot on the album. It’s probably my least favorite on the album
   9. I Know (featuring Jhene Aiko): This song is Sean and Jhene talking to a person who is going through a rough patch in a relationship. It’s slow paced and interesting. They try to convince this person to escape their problems by going on a vacation.
   10. Deep (featuring Lil Wayne): The highlight of this song is definitely Lil Wayne’s top-tier verse. Big Sean matches that bar after bar, asking if his life is a dream. The song really speaks for itself.
   11. One Man Can Change The World (feat. Kanye West & John Legend): This song is a necessary dedication to Big Sean’s late Grandmother. Talking about his dreams and how important she was to him, Sean makes another good song.
   12. Outro: Wow, I haven’t seen an outro in a while. But it reminds me of Kanye’s “Late” from Late Registration. Yes, it’s like that. He even uses Kanye’s flow from his older albums.

Overall: 8.4/10