Tonight season 2 of the hit BET comedy-drama Twenties comes to an end which means saying a temporary goodbye to some of our favorite characters — and eye candy — on the show like Big Sean. The Detroit rapper plays Tristan, the Zen love interest of Nia, and while the Finally Famous artist isn’t an exact carbon copy of his on-screen character, he does admit they share some similarities.
“I can relate to the essence of him because there are times where I’m not on social media. There are times when I am on social media. There are times where I put my phone down and leave it somewhere so I can relate to wanting to disconnect from the grid and go offline,” Big Sean tells ESSENCE.
As an entertainer, Big Sean and Tristan, who’s a photographer, share a common professional thread as artists, though the actor isn’t always in alignment with some of the personal choices his character makes. “I don’t agree with everything he does or how he acts or how he says [things] but I can see where he’s coming from,” he admits.
One of those things is how Tristan handles his love life. In this latest season, Nia runs into Tristan and confronts him about ghosting her — something Big Sean doesn’t think he’s ever done in real life.
“Have I ever ghosted a girl?” he asks repeating my question. “Nah. Not like that. I don’t know. If I’m being real — maybe. But not like that. In my whole life? I’m sure I’ve been ghosted too. Yes, I have been.”
Nevertheless, playing a young Black man who is particularly spiritually sound has helped the 33-year-old stay committed to his own personal self-care practices.
“It’s helped me evaluate some of the things that I truly do believe in, like walking in your purpose. That’s one of his things and evaluating who you really are,” Big Sean says of playing Tristan. “Those were parts that were already a part of me so it was easy for me to express that and it’s always a good reminder to hear things like that when you’re navigating through life.”
And when it comes to working in a predominately woman-led environment on the set of Twenties, he’s all for it.
“Women are magical,” he says.” Black women are the closest thing to God. Y’all be creating life. It’s funny how this doctor broke it down to me. He was like we all come out of a Black whole just like the universe was birthed and it’s really deep when you get down to it.”
Check out our full interview with Big Sean in the video above. The Season 2 finale of Twenties airs at 10 pm on BET.