Further tweets from Sean had teased guest spots from rap's most critically-acclaimed new star, Kendrick Lamar, as well as rap's most enigmatic wordsmith, Jay Electronica, and so listeners familiar with the current health of hip-hop were suspicious that "Control" was a salvage move by a rapper whose recent singles and videos aren't getting the traction his label hoped they would ("Fire" failed to catch on despite a Miley Cyrus video that's damn-near soft porn). The music is faux eventful and Sean's thin voice yelps at a timbre beneath a breathless yell while he runs through elongated civic boasts and declarations of self-importance. The first three minutes of the song try too hard. Last week, late Monday night, Detroit rapper Big Sean used Funkmaster Flex of New York City's HOT 97.1 FM to release " Control (HOF)," a song which, as Sean announced via Twitter, won't be featured on his forthcoming sophomore album Hall of Fame, ostensibly due to sample clearance issues.
Kendrick Lamar performing in the Netherlands three days before his verse shook up the rap world.