Big Sean Recalls Nearly Getting Eminem To Perform Over A J Dilla Beat With Him

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60th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Big Sean attends the 60th Annual GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals at Madison Square Garden on January 28, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Presley Ann/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

This would've been huge for Big Sean.

Big Sean says he was nearly able to convince Eminem to rap with him over a J Dilla beat for his 2020 album Detroit 2. Speaking about his relationship with the legendary rapper during a new cover story for Essence, Sean explained how it nearly came together, but Em preferred another production on his project instead.

“It reminded me of an old Eminem,” Sean said of the beat. “And when I sent it to Em, he was like, ‘Man, I like the Dilla beat, for sure. I get it.’” Despite being a fan of the production, Eminem preferred to lend his talents to the beat for the track, “Friday Night Cypher," alongside several other hometown artists. Tee Grizzley, Kash Doll, Cash Kidd, Payroll, 42 Dugg, Boldy James, Drego, Sada Baby, and Royce Da 5’9″ were all among them.

Read More: Eminem Apparently Called Big Sean "One Of The Most Dangerous Emcees"

Big Sean & Eminem Perform Together In Detroit

DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 06: Big Sean (L) and with special guest Eminem perform in concert in their hometown of Detroit at Joe Louis Arena on November 6, 2015, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott Legato/Getty Images)

It's not the first time Eminem has reportedly passed on a J Dilla beat. D12’s Denaun Porter previously revealed on Paul Rosenberg's Paul Pod in 2022 that Eminem originally had the beat for A Tribe Called Quest‘s “Get a Hold.” He explained at the time: "He had the illest song to that beat. Em had that beat before Tribe and them had it. Proof gave it to him. It was like, ‘Yo, I gotta get some Dilla beats.' I don’t know if he recorded it, but he wrote it because I remember him writing it and I remember the song being ill as hell […] The concept he had to it was crazy."

Big Sean Poses For "Essence" Cover

Elsewhere in Sean's interview with Essence, he revealed he wants to work on a movie with James Gunn and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. “I know that when it comes to acting and just anything I do, I want to really concentrate and focus on it,” he said. “So when that time comes, if it’s right, then it’s right.” Be on the lookout for further updates on Big Sean on HotNewHipHop.

Read More: Eminem "The Biggest Rapper Of All Time," Big Sean Says

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About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.