Big Sean‘s Hall Of Fame album isn’t officially due out until August 27, but a few of his most dedicated followers are getting a chance to hear the LP in advance, when he personally visits seven fans in seven different cities over the next few days. On Friday, the Detroit rapper held his first intimate preview session, playing the album in its entirety for 18-year-old superfan Christian Ponisi, in Staten Island.
Christian, who has been a longtime fan of the G.O.O.D. Music rapper, graduated from high school this spring and will head off to college in the fall. He was born with spinal muscular atrophy, which confines him to a wheelchair, and initially, he attempted to reach out to Sean through the Make-A-Wish-Foundation. When that fell through, a determined Christian still managed to strike up a relationship with Sean via Twitter, and eventually he was invited out to join him on the set of an Adidas shoot. They’ve kept in touch since then.
“He was just so cool when I met him and he was repping so hard,” Sean explained of their first encounter. “He had on Pow! chains, had every magazine [I was in], knew the words to every song and his family wheeled him up in a wheelchair, and [told me], ‘This dude has to be your biggest fan.”
“I felt like — who would enjoy hearing my album first more than him?” the Hall of Fame rapper added. “I just wanted to give him that experience, and go to his house and play the album. I wish my favorite rapper would’ve come to my house and played their album for me…I just wanted to make that moment happen and make his family proud.”
Friday was Sean’s first visit to Christian’s home, where he and the entire family hung casually in the living room, as he played the album for Christian and then explained the inspiration behind each track. Though Sean realized too late that he only brought an uncensored version of the album with him, Christian’s parents were cool about it, even with the more suggestive tracks like “M.I.L.F.” which features Nicki Minaj.
“I just played the album for my homie and he loved it,” Sean said after spending some solo time hanging with Christian after the session. “That was one of the best times I had in a long time, honestly too. That dude shows genuine love, that’s the reason those long nights make sense.”
After their album listening session, Sean snapped a picture with Christian and promptly shared it Instagram. Christian admitted that he couldn’t wait to brag to his friends about his day with Big Sean, especially since he now had photo evidence of it. Plus, it turns out they both share the same favorite song on Hall of Fame. Check out their listening session in the video above.
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