Big Sean talks collaborating with Kodak Black and Charlie Wilson on ‘Better Me Than You’

It’s been a little over a month since Big Sean released his latest album, and he says “it feels good.” Speaking to Elliott Wilson for Uproxx, he shares that the album’s title, Better Me Than You, is very much like a mantra.

“You’re the one that gets to go through the extra pressure of it all. You’re the one who’s chosen to go through it. And it may be to break a cycle. It may be to change your perspective, and you get to pass that on to the next generation, your community, and you get to make that difference,” Big Sean says. “So to me, it’s ‘better me than you’ because it is a sense of pride and also embracing your individuality, because really, I’m a better ‘me’ than you could ever be.”

The album finds Sean reflecting on his self journey, but it also features guest stars, including Charlie Wilson and Kodak Black.

“I had met him before in passing. Never worked with him though directly, and we got up, and it was just like I’d known him for 20 years,” Sean says of Charlie, who he describes as having “the most efficient professional voice that sounds better than ever.” 

As for why he tapped Kodak for “This N That,” he says, “he’s just so raw as far as an MC, I think he is authentic.”

“There’s no one like Kodak Black,” he continues. “I just appreciate his voice and his honesty and when he wanted to hop on a song, he was taking it very serious because he was like, ‘Man, you skated on there and Tiller skated on there,’ and he was like, ‘Man, I want to make sure that I do good on here.'” Sean added, “He did his thing.”