Big Sean continued his Detroit 2 promo run this week with a call-in appearance on Sway in the Morning that included some extended reflections on the impact of "Deep Reverence," an album cut featuring the late Nipsey Hussle.
In the track's second verse, Sean recalled reaching out to Kendrick Lamar after Nipsey's death, stating that there had never been any "real issues" between them. Instead, Sean said in the song, it was a matter of "lack of communication and wrong information."
In Thursday's Sway interview, Sean reiterated this while adding additional insight, including word that Kendrick recently hit him up after hearing the Nipsey collab in question.
About 12 minutes into the discussion, Sean recalled a conversation he had with Punch from TDE on a plane before elaborating on his and Nipsey’s longtime respect for one another.
"Me and [Nipsey] kept texting, kept being like 'Man, let's get up,'" Sean said. "'Cause me and Nip have known each other since 2008, and then we were on the Freshman cover together. We were peers. We were homies. He always respected a lot of things about me and I definitely always respected a lot of things about him."
Sean added that, at one point, he and Nipsey were working on several songs together. When Nipsey was killed, Sean explained, it felt something had "shifted" within himself.
"It shifted in, I feel like, all of us," he said. "Because you could tell [Nipsey] was on an upswing of being a greater version of himself. He was tuning in to his highest self. It hurt real bad."
From there, Sean turned his reflection back to that pivotal conversation he had with Punch. During that plane-set discussion, Sean said, Punch told him he "should really reach out" to Kendrick. According to Sean, he—at this point—had attempted to text Kendrick on another occasion in the past but later learned he had a wrong number.
"I never went any further than that," he said around 15 minutes into the interview. "I just left it there. So I had been wanting to do that. When I reached out to him, the mutual respect me and him have for each other is that of like kings and brothers. We respect each other to the fullest."
Sean noted that, while he doesn't want to speak on Kendrick’s behalf, he believes they both read the situation similarly.
"The situation was, he thought that people around him were telling him something, people around me were telling me something, and it just really wasn't the case," he said. "So, when we were able to talk, it was a good reconciliation and it was a good mutual respect. Even when he heard 'Deep Reverence,' he hit me and was like 'Yo, I appreciate you showing that love. I appreciate that love in the verse. You and Nip went crazy. Y'all gassed on it.'"
Sean is thankful to have gotten those words of praise from Kendrick, adding that he felt it was important to tell this story in a song because it might inspire listeners to reflect on relationships in their lives that might be falling victim to similar misunderstandings.
"It was good to get that response from your brother," he said. "Because, on that record, I just was keeping it open and honest and real. I wasn't trying to hold back. It was not out of disrespect, either. It was out of respect for myself and the things I've learned along the way."
Later, Sean was asked for more specifics regarding people who were putting it in his head that he and Kendrick were at odds. While Sean said that his team felt that it was all "nothing" and shouldn't be addressed, what was actually forcing the narrative to start to "become real" was the internet at large.
"What really was blowing it out of proportion, I feel like, was the internet," he said.
Sean also went deeper on the stories behind Detroit 2, Jhené Aiko, and much more. Catch the full thing below:
