Big Sean Fires More Subliminal Shots On His New Single “Yes”

Big Sean has got enemies. His forthcoming album was leaked online by a user claiming to be following Kanye West‘s orders. It’s about as dubious and unsubstantiated a claim as one can make, but whatever plausibility it does have stems from the fact that Sean and West are on the outs. The two rappers had a falling out after a decade plus of working together. Big Sean threw subliminal shots at someone thought to be West during a recent freestyle. He seemingly did the same thing on his latest single, “Yes.”

To be clear, Sean Don does not mention any rappers by name. He keeps it vague, so his bars could apply to anybody and everybody. That being said, the specificity of the insults make it seem as though he has a certain person in mind. The second verse on “Yes” sees Big Sean address someone he knew from way back. Someone who, evidently, has been talking bad about the rapper. “Stupid lil’ b*tch want reminisce about some sh*t from way back,” he spits. “N**gas really think they cutthroat ’cause they talkin’ off they necks. Get out your feelings, middle fingers to these n**gas.”

Big Sean closes out the verse by claiming his enemies won’t change him. Regardless of what’s done to him or said about him in public, he vows to remain the same positive person that he’s always been. “They wanna see me turn to the villain,” he adds. “Either way though I’ma kill ’em.” These critiques do apply to Kanye West if they are indeed intended for him. West was the one who put Big Sean on over a decade ago. He’s also, infamously, gone from being a beloved figure in the hip-hop community to being viewed as a villain within popular culture.

There’s also the bar about “talking off they necks.” Kanye West absolutely ruined his relationship with Big Sean when he went on a 2021 episode of Drink Champs. The Chicago artist claimed that signing Big Sean to GOOD Music was the “worst thing” he’d ever done. He lamented helping the rapper, and worried aloud that Sean’s career would be emblazoned on his tombstone. Sean was understandably bothered by these comments, given how close him and West have been over the years. There are likely more subs to come on Sean’s new album. What do you think? Is the rapper shading his old label boss? Or are fans looking too far into his lyrics?