Big Sean has quite a bit to be thankful for this past year. His latest album, Dark Sky Paradise, was a success both critically and commercially, he rocked a sold-out arena in his hometown of Detroit with some help from A-listers like Eminem, Lil Wayne and Dej Loaf and, as per his own lyrics, it can even be inferred that he “dodged a bullet from a crazy b***h.” 

With Thanksgiving less than 24 hours away, the “IDFWU” emcee looks to show his gratitude to the community that made him who he is today.

“Every year we give away turkeys for Thanksgiving. This year we will give away at least 5,000 turkeys with sides,” Big Sean told BET.com in an exclusive conversation. “We help families that need it and we do all sorts of events. This year we’re also teaming up with the Detroit Lions. I’m performing at halftime of the game, which will be nationally televised. So if you’re eating that turkey make sure you turn it to FOX for a little bit. You might catch me on there.”

In addition to his annual Turkey Day blessings on blessings on blessings, the G.O.O.D. Music star, through his The Sean Anderson Foundation, is also helping the D’s youth build a foundation in music.

“I just did a benefit concert here and [The Sean Anderson Foundation] donated every single dollar back to our programs that we’re invested in," he shared. "After school programs for high school kids, mogul prep programs for young people and programs for college students as well to help them transition from college to the workplace.”

These honorable deeds even come with some real perks.

“I built a recording studio at my old high school where they’re actually going to start teaching kids the ins and outs of the studio, not just recording, but engineering and different jobs that are inside of a studio," he says proudly. "I’m very proud of what we got going. I feel like it’s the beginning of something great and it gives me the hunger I need to keep my career going and keep me hungry in the booth cause I see a bigger purpose now. I see a bigger reason now to do it.”

This past weekend, Sean performed to a capacity crowd at the Palladium in Hollywood as part of Red Bull’s “30 Days in LA” concert series, where he made headlines by gifting the fans with some new tracks featuring Future, Metro Boomin’ and Mike WiLL Made It. 

“There was so much love in the building, real fans, OG fans, the show was sold out and I knew it was gonna be a special night so I just wanted to play some new music I had been working on,” Sean explained. “We didn’t drop the names of the songs yet, we just dropped some snippets. It was just a surprise for the people who was there. A treat for everyone that was outside, waiting in line. As of now [the songs are] for my next project — I don’t really wanna say album, mixtape, EP or whatever, but definitely been working on something for the people. I feel like this year’s the best year of my life and the best year of my career and next year is gonna be even bigger and better for me, so I’m just preparing for it. I realize how rare it is to still be here and to still be doing well, especially since I came into the game in 2010. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go, especially rappers, and I’m still here, and not only am I still here, I’m taking care of my mom, taking care of my family and everything’s going great.”

Blessings.

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(Photo: Ethan Miller/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)