Big Sean nearly bridged a gap in Detroit hip hop history by bringing together two Detroit legends: Eminem and J Dilla.
Sean rapped on two J Dilla beats and even had an unreleased Dilla beat planned for his album “Detroit 2”. What is even more intriguing is that this beat was originally envisioned as a collaboration with Eminem.
Sean described the beat to Essence magazine: “It reminded me of an old Eminem”. He sent it to Em, who dug the Dilla vibe but ultimately preferred a different beat for the posse cut “Friday Night Cypher”.
This isn’t the only near miss for a Dilla-Em collab. Denaun Porter, a former member of D12 and Marshall’s producer and hype man, revealed that Eminem once wrote a killer track for a Dilla beat that eventually ended up with A Tribe Called Quest’s “Get a Hold”. Financial difficulties might have been the reason, as Eminem was still coming up at the time.
Imagine the fire of a young Eminem on a J Dilla beat! While it remains a “what if”, this story highlights the fascinating connections and near misses that can happen in the music world.
While it remains a tantalizing what-if, Big Sean almost brought this Detroit hip hop summit to life. But not quite.
Listen to “Friday Night Cypher” below:
