

Starting the year, the album was included on multiple "Most Anticipated Albums of 2013" lists, including those by MTV, magazine XXL, who ranked it fourth, and Complex, which placed it eleventh. The single " Clique" from GOOD Music's album Cruel Summer, was originally supposed to be featured on Hall of Fame. Sean also said that the album would feature all types of songs, and everyone that had heard the album at that point in December 2012, had been "blown away" by it, including Kanye West, No I.D. Also indicating that the song "Mula", which features French Montana from the mixtape Detroit, could be featured as a deluxe edition track. Soon after, in an interview with Power 105, Sean stated he would include skits on the album to give it a "classic feel". He went on to say he wanted to teach and make a lasting impact on peoples' lives with this album.

Some people are going to hate it regardless, I'm just doing me." Sean also said that Hall of Fame would be a far more inspirational and a more conceptually-driven project than his debut album.

"This is just what the fuck I want to do. He also said that he feels "like situations are really going to be relatable to people." Shortly afterwards, he stated that he "didn't want to just do another club song", and that he did not want to follow the popular music standards. Sean stated that he chose the title because it represents himself. On September 27, 2012, Big Sean announced the title of his second studio album would be Hall of Fame: Memoirs of a Detroit Player, and announced a release date of December 2012.
