Big Sean is living the G.O.O.D. life. The Detroit rapper appeared on 106 & Park today for an interview and special performance to help promote the release of his upcoming debut album, Finally Famous. For most new artists, a 106 & Park performance can be their first real introduction to a national audience. So Big Sean had to do it, well, big.

“I know Kanye doesn’t really do things like this too much, so him coming out performing showing love just goes to show how much he cares about me,” Big Sean told BET.com backstage at 106 & Park. Signed to Kanye West’s G.O.O.D. Music label, Big Sean is the one of the first rap artists to actually follow through with the release of an album on the label. No complaints. “That’s my mentor,” Sean says of the Louis Vuitton don. “It was an amazing show. Amazing.”

Though Big Sean is only 22 years old, he feels as though this album is a long time coming. The young rapper met Kanye back in 2005, while he was still in high school. “Rapping to Kanye on the radio station and him not knowing me, to being on 106 & Park performing with him, that’s, like crazy. That’s an accomplishment,” says a very grateful Big Sean. “I appreciate he was cool enough to come on here.” Kanye signed Sean to his label a few years after their initial meeting, and BS patiently waited for his turn. “It took a long ass time to get to this point, man. It’s a very humbling experience. I just can’t believe it finally came.”

Sean’s humbleness might have earned him Kanye’s heart. For Kanye West, humble hasn’t always been the word used to describe the multi-platinum producer/rapper. But where they are different in their appetite for humble pie, they are also similar in their upbringing. Sean says that although he grew up “in the hood” on Detroit’s west side around best friends that were “ghetto as hell,” his grandmother sent him to private school where he studied art and poetry, played three different instruments and had to learn German and Spanish. Similarly, Kanye was raised in Chicago, but by a schoolteacher who sent him to the International School of Art and Design and Technology. Their education isn’t the only thing they have in common though. Throw in the Jesus’ pieces and straight-legged jeans.

But Big Sean is still learning how to position himself for success. And Kanye is trying to learn how to make someone besides himself successful. “This album is more so a learning experience than anything. Last minute samples, songs we had to take off, so it wasn’t as perfect as I wanted it to be. It taught me a lot of having to go with the flow and not being caught up on so many things,” he says. “And just knowing that your work is your work and it’s great and it’s perfect as is.” And it helps when you have a big brother who already knows.

(Photo: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images for VEVO)