Sean Michael Leonard Anderson, born March 25, 1988, records as Big Sean. Born in Santa Monica and raised in Detroit by his mother and grandmother, he competed weekly in a radio rap battle on WHTD before catching Kanye West outside a Detroit station in 2005 and rapping 16 bars for him on the spot. West signed him to GOOD Music two years later. The mixtape Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big built his audience, and his first two albums, Finally Famous and Hall of Fame, both reached number three on the Billboard 200. Dark Sky Paradise debuted at number one in 2015 behind the diamond-certified "I Don't Fuck with You" with E-40, and I Decided and Detroit 2 also topped the chart. He has cited West, Eminem, The Notorious B.I.G. and J Dilla as influences, and has confirmed a joint album with The Alchemist.