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Ariana Grande is the key to creating a remarkable rap album. This is a working hypothesis composed of my many years of observing this rap shit.

Before his last album, Big Sean was already a notable artist, mostly due to his affiliations and the assist he gave Kendrick Lamar that catapulted him to the top of the heap. Sean started dating Ariana and the next thing you know, he released Dark Sky Paradise, easily the best project in his catalog.

I don’t really know what difference Ariana made in Sean’s life and/or his music. He probably didn’t lack for confidence since he rocked with Kanye and co. and should have had a healthy bank account. But there’s a certain level of macho that money can’t buy. It comes from locking up a bad chick. When you land a dime who you damn-well-know is out of your league, you walk with a bigger bop to your step or, in Sean’s case, you rap with a stronger battery in your back.

Waif women have never been my thing, but Ariana’s obviously cute in an Olympic gymnast type of way. And she’s famous. More famous than Sean, which bumped him up from C-list to like B-list — maybe. The added swag from little Miss “Side to Side” worked and Sean Don scored a number one album.

Mac got with her and dropped The Divine Feminine, which may be his best album. Or not. Watching Movies was very solid but Divine finds Mac experimenting with a Rap&B concoction with collection of collaborators who all work in sync with his vision. The project’s got a cool-out vibe where you could play it in the background, sit on the futon with a chick, smoke a joint and talk about frivolous shit. Creatively, it’s some of young Mac’s best output and it’s probably thanks to Ariana breaking him off regularly.

If Sean’s next solo album stinks, my hypothesis is true. And if it’s true, I hope she hooks up with Blu and helps him achieve the greatness we all know is in him.

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