Music
Big Sean
born 1988 · rapper, songwriter
Rapper raised in Detroit from infancy whose albums Detroit and Detroit 2 honor his hometown; he runs a youth foundation in the city and works with the Pistons.
- Born
Santa Monica, California
age 38- Birth name
- Sean Michael Leonard Anderson
- Detroit years
- 1988–2000s; ongoing ties
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Born in Santa Monica, Anderson moved to Detroit at three months old and was raised by his mother, a schoolteacher, and his grandmother. He attended the Detroit Waldorf School and graduated from Cass Technical High School with a 3.7 grade-point average. As a teenager he honed his rhymes in weekly battles on hip-hop station WHTD, and in 2005 he rapped for Kanye West during a Detroit radio visit, which led to a deal with West's GOOD Music in 2007. Detroit runs through his catalog, from the 2012 mixtape Detroit to the No. 1 album Detroit 2 (2020) and the 2024 single "Tobey" with Eminem and BabyTron. Through the Sean Anderson Foundation, founded in 2012, he donated a recording studio to Cass Tech and backs youth programs across the city. Since 2020 he has been a creative director for the Detroit Pistons.
Highlights
- Dark Sky Paradise, I Decided and Detroit 2 all debuted at No. 1
- "Bounce Back" (2016) peaked at No. 6 on the Hot 100
- Offered the key to the city of Detroit in 2017
- Creative director for the Detroit Pistons since 2020
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 3
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · 1990s
Detroit Waldorf School
Independent school on the east side that he attended as a child.
Studied here · 2000s
Cass Technical High School
His high school; his foundation later donated a professional recording studio for students. The current building opened in 2005.
Worked here · 2020–
Little Caesars Arena
Home arena of the Detroit Pistons, for whom he has been creative director since 2020; the team has staged a Big Sean Night here.