With his third consecutive No. 1 album under his belt, Big Sean has much to celebrate. He took his time in crafting Detroit 2 and it was well worth the wait. Not only were there features from his fellow rap and hip hop artists, but there were appearances by the likes of Dave Chappelle and Stevie Wonder. The introspective rapper poured his heart out on the project, and he recently sat down with Jen DeLeon to discuss his latest record while also touching on the topic of developing his work ethic. Throughout Detroit 2, Big Sean spoke a lot about his grind, and he revealed that one problem he had to overcome was equating how much time he worked to how successful he could be.

“I was in the studio all day, I used to be like, I’m going hard,” he said. “But really, sometimes I would be in the studio all day just forcing it as opposed to really being in there ’cause I was inspired. I used to think that the amount of hours you put into something translates into it being successful, but really, it’s not about that. It’s about working smarter.” It’s common for artists to believe that they have to grind 24-7 in order to be recognized in the industry, but Sean revealed he had to unlearn that lesson.

The rapper also talked about being more vocal after feeling silenced due to judgment. Being in the public eye can cause many celebrities to not say much of anything because of the criticism from the public, but Big Sean has learned how to navigate his public persona with his personal life. Watch Sean Don share a few noteworthy deep thoughts below.