Double or Nothing (Big Sean and Metro Boomin album)

Double or Nothing is a collaborative studio album by American rapper Big Sean and American record producer Metro Boomin. The album was released on December 8, 2017, by GOOD Music, Def Jam Recordings, Republic Records, Universal Music Group and Boominati Worldwide.^[2] It features guest appearances from Travis Scott, 2 Chainz, 21 Savage, Kash Doll, Young Thug, and Swae Lee. The album's production was handled primarily by Metro Boomin, alongside Earlly Mac, Pi'erre Bourne and Southside.

Double or Nothing
Studio album by Big Sean and Metro Boomin
Released	December 8, 2017
Recorded	2017
Genre	Hip hop trap
Length	41:28
Label	GOOD Def Jam Republic Universal Boominati
Producer	Metro Boomin (also exec.) Big Sean (exec.) Kanye West (exec.) Earlly Mac Pi'erre Bourne Southside
Big Sean chronology
I Decided (2017) Double or Nothing (2017) Detroit 2 (2020)
Metro Boomin chronology
Without Warning (2017) Double or Nothing (2017) Not All Heroes Wear Capes (2018)
Singles from Double or Nothing
"Pull Up N Wreck" Released: November 3, 2017 "So Good" Released: February 13, 2018^[1]

The album was supported by two singles: "Pull Up N Wreck" featuring 21 Savage and "So Good" featuring Kash Doll.

Background

In an interview with Billboard published on December 1, 2017, Big Sean announced the collaborative album.^[3][4] The two previously worked on Sean's previous studio album, I Decided (2017), on the single "Bounce Back" and album tracks "Sacrifices" and "Voices in My Head / Stick to the Plan". The album art and release date was announced on December 6, 2017,^[5][6] while the track listing was announced via social media the following day, the day before release.^[7]

The intro song, "Go Legend" featuring Travis Scott, was previewed by Sean at Lollapalooza 2017 in Chicago. The song originally was thought to have Offset as an additional feature but did not make the studio version of the song.

Songs from the album were previewed by American athlete LeBron James via Instagram the day before release.^[8]

Singles

The lead single, "Pull Up N Wreck" featuring 21 Savage, was released on November 3, 2017, for streaming and digital download.^[9] "So Good" featuring Kash Doll was sent to rhythmic radio on February 13, 2018, as the album's second single.^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	54/100^[10]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[11]
HipHopDX	2.6/5^[12]
HotNewHipHop	74%^[13]
Pitchfork	5.4/10^[14]
Sputnikmusic	2.7/5^[15]
The 405	5.5/10^[16]

Double or Nothing received mixed reviews from critics upon release, with a general criticism of the collaborative pairing. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 54, based on 4 reviews.^[10] Claire Lobenfeld of Pitchfork criticised the album's lyricism, stating that "Though fun and at times politically salient, even Metro Boomin cannot rescue Big Sean from his habit of writing the absolute corniest lyrics imaginable."^[14] Chase McMullen of The 405 commented that "There's no denying Big Sean has had more staying power in hip hop than some might have expected, but for Metro Boomin, who's largely been wise in choosing fresh faces on equal creative footing for his full length projects, Double or Nothing is a dull misstep."^[16] In another mixed review, Trent Clark of HipHopDX concluded: "While the essential purpose of the album is never specified, Sean spends a ridiculous amount of time skeeting on tracks with no filter on the filler."^[12]

Online music publication Sputnikmusic stated Double or Nothing is "ostensibly 10 bangers processed through Metro’s lean, gothic synths and Sean’s plain-spoken statements of wealth and general overconfidence. It’s boring stuff."^[15]

Joshua Robinson from hnhh stated than the album "demonstrated the next step in Big Sean’s growth“ and singled songs like “Who’s Stopping Me“ and the off-kilter “Even The Odds“ and concludes with the statement: “Love it or hate it, Double or Nothing had plenty of highlights.“^[17]

Despite the reviews, Big Sean is very fond of the album and enjoyed his collaboration with Metro Boomin and said the album was just « straight fun ».^[18][19]

In 2022, Metro Boomin admits that he felt some creative malaise in 2017, and that the negative reaction to the album rattled him a bit:

“I still do like the album and I’m not gonna get into how people try to do Big Sean or treat him online, which I know played a big part of it. I know a lot of those songs or a lot of the shit that he said, if another huge rapper or rappers similar to him said it, they would just let it slide.”^[20]

Later Metro Boomin said that the "album is still hard as f***": "(when) It came out music was in a different time. I feel like if we had held that album and dropped it right now, n**** would be like "Oh!"." and added "I still stand by that album. We had a lot of hard solid songs."^[21]

Commercial performance

Double or Nothing debuted at number six on the US Billboard 200 and number two on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, with 50,000 album-equivalent units, of which 10,000 were pure album sales in its first week of release.^[22]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[23]

Double or Nothing^[2]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Go Legend" (featuring Travis Scott)	Sean Anderson Leland Wayne Jacques Webster II Gerry Goffin Michael Masser	Metro Boomin	4:28
2.	"Big Bidness" (featuring 2 Chainz)	Anderson Wayne Tauheed Epps	Metro Boomin	4:33
3.	"Who's Stopping Me"	Anderson Wayne Earl Taylor Gabriel Almizinho	Metro Boomin Earlly Mac	3:33
4.	"Pull Up N Wreck" (featuring 21 Savage)	Anderson Wayne Shayaa Abraham-Joseph Taylor Joshua Luellen	Metro Boomin Southside	3:47
5.	"So Good" (featuring Kash Doll)	Anderson Wayne Arkeisha Knight	Metro Boomin	4:28
6.	"Savage Time"	Anderson Wayne Webster Christopher Elliot	Metro Boomin	5:35
7.	"Even the Odds" (featuring Young Thug)	Anderson Wayne Jeffery Williams Radric Davis Taylor	Metro Boomin	3:46
8.	"In Tune"	Anderson Wayne David Goldsmith Christopher Young	Metro Boomin	4:15
9.	"Reason" (featuring Swae Lee)	Anderson Wayne Khalif Brown Jordan Jenks	Metro Boomin Pi'erre Bourne	3:18
10.	"No Hearts, No Love"	Anderson Wayne Shuggie Otis	Metro Boomin	3:45
Total length:				41:28

Notes

• "Savage Time" features additional vocals from Travis Scott
• "Even the Odds" features additional vocals from Gucci Mane

Sample credits

• "Go Legend" contains samples from "Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You're Going To)", performed by Diana Ross
• "Who's Stopping Me" contains samples from "Clarão da Lua", performed by Nazaré Pereira.
• "In Tune" contains samples from "Up Against the Wind", performed by Lori Perry.
• "No Hearts, No Love" contains samples from "Strawberry Letter 23", performed by The Brothers Johnson.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.^[23]

Performers Big Sean – primary artist, vocals, songwriting (all tracks) Metro Boomin – primary artist, production, songwriting (all tracks) Travis Scott – featured artist (track 1) 2 Chainz – featured artist (track 2) 21 Savage – featured artist (track 4) Kash Doll – featured artist (track 5) Young Thug – featured artist (track 7) Swae Lee – featured artist (track 9) Musicians Chris Harrington – musical director (track 10) The Atlanta Boys Choir – choir (track 10) Technical Gregg Rominiecki – recording (all tracks) Maximilian Jaeger – recording (all tracks) Kuldeep Chudasama – recording assistant (tracks 1, 4, 6) Jim Caruana – recording (track 6) Miguel Scott – recording assistant (track 9) Ethan Stevens – mixing (all tracks), recording (track 9) Joe LaPorta – mastering (all tracks)

Additional personnel Sarah Rountree – project manager Gunner Stahl – photography Jason Lee – cover photo Omar Rajput – art direction Mike Carson – creative director

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2017) Peak position Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[24] 106 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)^[25] 199 Canadian Albums (Billboard)^[26] 15 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[27] 43 French Albums (SNEP)^[28] 164 New Zealand Heatseeker Albums (RMNZ)^[29] 1 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[30] 32 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[31] 45 UK Albums (OCC)^[32] 96 US Billboard 200^[33] 6 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[34] 2

Year-end charts Chart (2018) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)^[35] 84

References

1. "Top 40/R Future Releases - Mainstream Hit Songs Being Released and Their Release Dates". All Access. January 30, 2018.
2. "Double Or Nothing by Big Sean & Metro Boomin". Apple Music. 8 December 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
3. "Big Sean & Metro Boomin Detail Surprise Joint LP 'Double or Nothing': 'It's About What You're Bringing to the Table'". Billboard. December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
4. "Big Sean and Metro Boomin to Drop Joint Album 'Double or Nothing'". XXL. December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
5. "Big Sean and Metro Boomin Share 'Double or Nothing' Release Date". XXL. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
6. "Big Sean & Metro Boomin Announce Release Date for Joint Project 'Double or Nothing'". Billboard. December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
7. "Big Sean and Metro Boomin Share 'Double or Nothing' Tracklist". XXL. December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
8. "LeBron James Previews Big Sean & Metro Boomin's 'Double or Nothing' Album on Instagram". Billboard. December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
9. "Pull Up N Wreck (feat. 21 Savage) – Single by Big Sean on Apple Music". iTunes. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
10. "Double Or Nothing by Big Sean Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
11. Yeung, Neil Z. "Double or Nothing – Big Sean / Metro Boomin". AllMusic. Retrieved November 3, 2018.
12. Clark, Trent (December 8, 2017). "Review: Big Sean & Metro Boomin's "Double Or Nothing" Takes An L Without Bouncin' Back". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
13. Robles, Julian (December 12, 2017). "Big Sean and Metro Boomin "Double or Nothing" Review". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
14. Lobenfeld, Claire (December 13, 2017). "Big Sean / Metro Boomin: Double or Nothing". Pitchfork. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
15. "Review: Big Sean and Metro Boomin – Double or Nothing". Sputnikmusic. December 13, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
16. McMullen, Chase (December 15, 2017). "Review: Metro Boomin squanders his good will on a clumsy Big Sean effort". The 405. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
17. "Why Big Sean is One of the Greatest of All Time". HNHH. 30 May 2022.
18. "8 Things We Learned from Big Sean's 'Drink Champs' Interview". Complex Networks.
19. "Big Sean & Hit-Boy Have an Epic Conversation | GQ - the Global Herald". 29 October 2021.
20. https://www.gq.com/story/gq-hype-metro-boomin
21. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33sOgc1qC3Y
22. Anderson, Trevor (December 12, 2017). "Quality Control Tops R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Chart; Big Sean & Metro Boomin Debut at No. 2". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
23. "Double Or Nothing / Big Sean". Tidal. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
24. "Ultratop.be – Big Sean & Metro Boomin – Double or Nothing" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
25. "Ultratop.be – Big Sean & Metro Boomin – Double or Nothing" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
26. "Canadian Albums: December 30, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
27. "Dutchcharts.nl – Big Sean & Metro Boomin – Double or Nothing" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
28. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 50, 2017)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
29. "NZ Heatseeker Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. December 18, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
30. "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 50, 2017". VG-lista. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
31. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved December 16, 2017. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
32. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 16, 2017.
33. Caulfield, Keith (December 18, 2017). "Luke Bryan Lands Fourth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'What Makes You Country'". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
34. "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: December 30, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 19, 2017.
35. "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved June 18, 2020.