Big Sean
Mike CarsonBig Sean's collaborative What You Expect EP with Hit-Boy wasn't the only surprise he had in store for fans Friday (Oct. 29). The Detroit emcee also announced on Twitter that after 14 years, he has stepped away from Kanye West's G.O.O.D. Music label. After a fan asked, "Damn no more GOOD Music for Big Sean?" Sean responded in a tweet saying, "That’s a forever brotherhood, but business wise, I had to start getting a bigger cut! I worked my way out that deal."
In another tweet, he elaborated on his decision to release on his own label, adding "By the way this the first project where I’m on my own label as well, no more lil dawg s--t!!!! I bossed up! #DONLIFE"
What You Expect was released with credits to FF To Def Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings, a division of Universal Music Group that also distributes G.O.O.D. Music. FF To Def is an LLC based in Detroit -- Big Sean's hometown -- according to public filings, suggesting this is his own new imprint with Def Jam. Big Sean is managed by Zeno Jones.
Reps for Def Jam, UMG and Big Sean did not respond to requests for comment at time of publishing.
The six-song EP features Lil Durk, Bryson Tiller and fellow Detroit emcees 42 Dugg and Babyface Ray and follows Sean's album Detroit 2, which was also executive produced by fellow former G.O.O.D. Music signee, Hit-Boy.
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During his time with G.O.O.D. Music, Big Sean released seven albums, three of which -- Dark Sky Paradise, I Decided and Detroit 2-- peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. In an earlier tweet dated Oct. 21, Big Sean reminisced on the "GOOD ol days," adding, "I also really miss the brotherhood I use to have with GOOD music, I don’t know what happened."
Since 2010, the once-rich G.O.O.D. Music roster has dwindled, with Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Desiigner, Mos Def, Teyana Taylor and now Big Sean leaving in the last decade. Ye himself, Pusha T and 070 Shake are among the handful of artists who remain.
NEWS
Placebo have kicked off their 30th anniversary tour by dusting off some tracks for the first time in over 20 years, and also playing new single ‘Helen Keller’ live for the first time.
The new dates come as the band are celebrating the 30 years since they dropped their 1996 debut album. To mark the occasion, they have announced a huge UK and European arena tour, where they have vowed to predominantly play material from their first album and their sophomore record ‘Without You I’m Nothing’.
At the opening night at Krakatoa in Mérignac, France, Brian Molko and co. delivered a stacked 19-song set, which began with ‘Pure Morning’, and immediately went into the first rendition of ‘Come Home’ in 20 years.
Another rarity came straight after, with the first live performance of ‘You Don’t Care About Us’ since 2001, as well as ‘Without You I’m Nothing’ and ‘Allergic (To Thoughts Of Mother Earth)’ which were played for the first time since 2018 and 2014 respectively.
‘Drowning by Numbers’, ‘Bruise Pristine’ and ‘My Sweet Prince’ were all introduced into the setlist for the first time since 2001, ‘Brick Shithouse’ was aired out for the first time since 2003, ‘Scared Of Girls’ was played for the first time since 2010, and both ‘Lady Of The Flowers’ and ‘36 Degrees’ were broken out for the first time in nine years.
The rest of the set was made up of ‘Teenage Angst’, ‘Bionic’, ‘I Know’ and ‘Every You Every Me’, and the band wrapped up the performance with two covers: Depeche Mode’s ‘I Feel You’, and Kate Bush’s ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’.
It wasn’t until a later show at the Super Bock Arena in Porto, Portugal, that Placebo broke out their new song ‘Helen Keller’ for the first time – playing it 13 songs into the setlist.
Check out more footage from the tour so far below, as well as the setlist from night one.
‘Pure Morning’
‘Come Home’ (First time since 2006)
‘You Don’t Care About Us'(First Time Since 2001)
‘Teenage Angst’
‘Bionic’
‘Without You I’m Nothing” (First Time Since 2018)
‘Allergic (to Thoughts of Mother Earth)” (First Time Since 2014)
‘Drowning by Numbers” (First Time Since 2001)
’36 Degrees” (Alternate Version – First Time Since 2017)
‘I Know’
‘Brick Shithouse’ (First Time Since 2003)
‘Scared of Girls’ (First Time Since 2010)
‘Bruise Pristine” (First Time Since 2001)
‘My Sweet Prince’ (First Time Since 2001)
‘Lady of the Flowers’ (First time since 2017)
‘Nancy Boy’
‘Every You Every Me’
‘I Feel You’ (Depeche Mode cover, live debut)
‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ (Kate Bush cover)
Placebo dropped the single ‘Helen Keller’ on September 28, and it sees them reach back to ‘H.K. Farewell’, a hidden instrumental from the era of their self-titled 1996 debut. In the track, they retain the eerie keyboard melody from the original, and push it to new dimensions with a heavier, more anguished feeling.
The title refers to the American author, who was also a disability rights advocate and political activist, who became deafblind as a young child and went on to become an internationally renowned writer and campaigner.
As well as the tour, Placebo also celebrated the 30th anniversary of their debut by releasing a reimagined version of the record. For the LP, Molko and Stefan Olsdal returned to the original master tapes and reworked all 10 songs from the 1996 record – describing it as a “director’s cut” that helped them inject the original songs with three decades more experience.
The ongoing tour will reach the UK and Ireland in late November and early December, where they will play Nottingham, Glasgow, Dublin, Manchester, London and Cardiff. See all the dates here and find any remaining tickets here.
Dates will head to Latin America in 2027, beginning in São Paulo on February 20 and running through Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru and Colombia before wrapping up with shows in Guadalajara and Monterrey in March.
Placebo dropped their last album of new material in 2022, with ‘Never Let Me Go’. That record was given a four-star review by NME, which described it as “a renaissance rock record with an experimental edge”, adding that it found Placebo “inspired and ready for a new era”.
