Grief will radically alter how you operate in your daily life. The memories make the heart ache even more. You hardly ever expect someone to die, especially when it’s so soon. So when Nipsey Hussle was tragically murdered at 33 years old in 2019, hip-hop was devastated. Big Sean was broken up in particular, suffering a deep depression that caused him to walk away from music for an extended period of time.
In an interview with ABC News, the Detroit rapper talked about why he found it important to talk about his mental health over the years. He admitted that the topic can be “very taboo in the Black community.” However, Sean just found it important to talk about his own experience. As a result, maybe others would be empowered to talk about their own.
In the time that Big Sean was going to therapy, he realized that he lost a sense of himself. He admitted, “I had to rediscover myself. I didn’t even know what I liked anymore… what I was into anymore. I had been so about my work that I lost touch with the person that I was. So, I think that led to a very deep battle of depression, deeper than I experienced when I was a teenager.”
Big Sean Candidly Opens Up About His Mental Health Journey After Nipsey Hussle’s Death
Ultimately, dealing with that depression meant looking inward and putting himself first. Consequently, he took a lengthy break from music, a four-year hiatus between albums in 2020 and 2024. “[That moment] taught me how important the mind, body, and spirit are, how interconnected they are,” Big Sean stressed.
Whether it was simple self-care, eating better, meditation, or working out, it was all in service towards improving his mindset. In between the discipline and hard work, though, you have to find a time to let loose. “You got to be serious about having fun, because as fast as time goes, we’re here for a limited amount of time,” Big Sean explained.
“We got all these goals, all these dreams, but what if this is our only time to actually experience this friction and experience these feelings while we’re in our bodies. There’s so many lessons in that time that I learned in my life; so I’m just happy to be here,” Sean continued.
His partner Jhené Aiko learned similar lessons over the years. In November 2025, she stressed how Big Sean and her family helped her slowly come to terms with losing her home to the Los Angeles Wildfires. “I honestly cannot accept these flowers,” she said in an acceptance speech. “These are their flowers.”
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