I Decided (album)

I Decided is a concept album that centers around the idea of rebirth. In January 2017, during an episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Big Sean confirmed that both men on the album cover are him—a present-day version to the left and an older version of himself to the right. Speaking to Zane Lowe about I Decided, Sean explained the title of the project: "[the title] means so many things. I feel like life is all about the decisions you make. This is what I decided. That's why I put a period on the end of it—because this is definitive." He also cited Kanye West as an inspiration to his creative process behind the album in an interview with Fact: "He helped me learn how to make albums", and although West is absent from the record, the Detroit-based rapper exclusively told Capital XTRA that he was very influential in the project – helping to shape many songs." West is also credited as one of the album's executive producers. ==Promotion==

Singles "Bounce Back" was released as the album's lead single on October 31, 2016. The track was produced by Hitmaka, co-produced by Smash David, with additional production by Metro Boomin and Amaire Johnson. The track was later serviced to rhythmic radio on January 10, 2017, as the album's second single. The track was produced by Fuse, co-produced by Tre Pounds, with additional production by Maximilian Johnson. The track was produced by Key Wane, with additional production by Hey DJ Camper. The track was produced by Amaire Johnson, with additional production by Maximilian Jaeger. ==Critical reception==

I Decided was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 67, based on 13 reviews. Andy Belt of Consequence said, "I Decided. is a fresh statement that proves Big Sean is continuing to evolve". Matthew Strauss of Pitchfork said, "While he has become incrementally more skilled over the years, not much else has changed. Throughout I Decided., Sean conflates the passing of time with growth and progress. Nothing on I Decided., however, suggests that he has gained perspective worth sharing or to which he should devote a whole album". Writing for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos concluded: "As always, his earnestness is believable. Every moment he counts his blessings – like on the casually catchy single "Bounce Back" – you root for him. He embraces his underdog status, especially since he is most often pitted against and working with rap's biggest personalities, like Kanye West, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar. More often than not, however, he gets swallowed by the larger-than-life brands and presences of those he surrounds himself with, like Eminem who steals Sean's thunder with the quality, agility and fire of his guest verse on "No Favors"." Year-end lists ==Commercial performance==

I Decided debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 151,000 album-equivalent units, (of which 65,000 were pure album sales) in its first week. This became Sean's second US number-one album. In its third week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, earning 49,000 more units. As of September 2017, the album has earned 724,000 album-equivalent units in the US. On October 25, 2017, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for combined sales, streaming and track-sales equivalent of over a million units in the United States. I Decided was ranked as the 20th most popular album of 2017 on the Billboard 200. ==Track listing==

Notes • signifies a co-producer • signifies an additional producer • "Intro" features vocals by JR Starr • "Bounce Back" features additional vocals by Kanye West and Jeremih • "No Favors" features additional vocals by Starrah and Iman Milner • "Jump Out the Window" features additional vocals by Starrah, Jeremih and Tommy Parker • "Same Time, Pt. 1" features talk box by Andre Troutman • "Owe Me" features additional vocals by Michael Carson and Big Sean • "Halfway Off the Balcony" features additional vocals from Amaire Johnson, Maximilian Jaeger, Eric Duncan and Big Sean • "Sunday Morning Jetpack" features vocals by Cary Singer • "Bigger Than Me" features additional vocals by Myra Anderson and Big Sean Sample credits • "Light" contains an interpolation from the composition "Intimate Friends", written by Garry Glenn. • "No Favors" contains a sample from "Summer in the City", performed by Quincy Jones featuring Valerie Simpson, and written by Mark Sebastian, Steve Boone and John Sebastian. • "Bigger Than Me" contains samples from the library recording "Get the Feelin', produced under license from The Carlin Recorded Music Library, and written by Juliet Roberts, Steve Jeffries and Thomas Blaize; and an interpolation from "Romie", written by Moses Davis, Andrew Thomas and Steven Marsden, and performed by Beenie Man. ==Personnel==

Credits adapted from the I Decided album credits. • Nick Kennerly – violin (tracks 2, 11, 14) • Peter Lee Johnson – violin (tracks 2, 11, 14) • Amaire Johnson – bass (track 1), keyboards (tracks 1, 8), synthesizer (track 1), piano (track 8); strings (track 8); production coordinator • David Pizzimenti – assistant engineer (tracks 2, 14) • Matthew Sim – assistant engineer (tracks 2, 14) • Manny Park – assistant engineer (tracks 7, 10, 12, 14) • Nick Mills – assistant engineer (tracks 4, 7, 8, 9) • Gregg Rominiecki – recording; mixing (tracks 2, 5, 8, 9) • Maximilian Jaeger – recording; mixing (tracks 2, 8) • Hector Fernandez – mix assistant, assistant engineer (track 9) • Henry Solomon – clairinet, flute, horn, saxophone (track 9) • Rob Kinelski – mixing (tracks 11, 12, 14) • Manny Marroquin – mixing (track 4) • Mike Strange – vocal recording for Eminem • Joe Strange – vocal recording for Eminem • Jaycen Joshua – mixing (tracks 4, 7, 10) • Dave Nakaji – assistant mix engineer (tracks 4, 7, 10) • Maddox Chhim – assistant mix engineer (tracks 4, 7, 10) • Li So – guitar (track 7) • Rumeal Eggleston – bass (track 7) • Albert Strickland – choir director • Mike Carson – creative direction (for the 92 Group) • Juco – photography • Omar Rajput – graphic design • K8 [Young Algorithm] – web development • JR Starr – model • Ade Samuel – styling • Kahlil Sledge – grooming • Deborah Mannis-Gardner – sample clearances • Chris Athens – mastering ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==