''What You Expect'' is a collaborative

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by American rapper

Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...

and American record producer

Hit-Boy Chauncey Alexander Hollis Jr. (born May 21, 1987), better known by his stage name Hit-Boy, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. In May 2011, he had signed a two-year deal with Kanye West's GOOD Music production branch. ...

. It was released through Big Sean's own label, FF to Def, and

Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings (also simply known as Def Jam) is an American multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It is based in Manhattan, New York City, specializing predominantly in hip hop, contemporary R&B, soul and pop. The ...

on October 29, 2021. The EP features guest appearances from

Bryson Tiller Bryson Djuan Tiller (born January 2, 1993) is an American singer and rapper. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, he began his career in 2011 with a mixtape entitled ''Killer Instinct Vol. 1''. Tiller initially gained mainstream success in 2015 follow ...

Lil Durk Durk Derrick Banks (born October 19, 1992), known professionally as Lil Durk, is an American rapper and singer. He is the lead member and founder of the collective and record label Only the Family (OTF). Durk garnered a cult following with the ...

Babyface Ray Marcellus Rayvon Register (born February 7, 1991), known professionally as Babyface Ray, is an American rapper from Detroit, Michigan. He is noted as an important and prominent figure of the Detroit hip hop scene. Early life Ray recalls parti ...

, and

42 Dugg Dion Marquise Hayes (born November 25, 1995), known professionally as 42 Dugg, is an American rapper. He is jointly signed to rappers Lil Baby and Yo Gotti's respective labels 4 Pockets Full (4PF) and Collective Music Group (CMG), in conjunctio ...

. Production was mainly handled by Hit-Boy on every track along with side help from G Dav, Oz, Jesse Blum,

Rogét Chahayed Rogét Lutfi Chahayed (born May 31, 1988) is a Grammy-nominated American record producer and songwriter who Billboard has called "one of hip-hop and pop's most dependable hit machines." A conservatory-trained pianist who became a producer under ...

Don Cannon Donald Cannon (born August 2, 1979) is an American DJ, record producer, songwriter, and record executive. Cannon is a co-founder of the Atlantic Records imprint, Generation Now. He was also a member of the prominent Atlanta mixtape collective, ...

, G. Ry, Bryvn, PittThaKid, and Ace G. It was supported by the release of one single, "What a Life", the closing track, which was released exactly a week prior to the release of the EP.

Background and promotion

Big Sean and Hit-Boy have extensively collaborated before the release of the EP. On October 28, 2021, both artists announced the EP, with Sean admitting that he planned to release only one single the same day as the EP was released, but decided to release five songs, which would be part of an EP. The tracklist was revealed hours later. The two artists released the closing track, "What a Life", on October 22, 2021, with a music video.

Track listing

Notes * signifies an additional producer. * signifies a co-producer. * "Into It" features uncredited additional vocals from

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

. * "The One" contains samples from " You're the One", performed by

SWV SWV (Sisters with Voices) is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B g ...

Personnel

Musicians *

– vocals (all tracks), songwriting (all tracks) *

– production (all tracks), songwriting (all tracks) * G Dav – production (tracks 2, 5), songwriting (tracks 2, 5) * Jesse Blum – horn (track 1), additional production (tracks 3, 5), songwriting (track 5) * Oz – production (track 3), songwriting (track 3) *

Coko Cheryl Elizabeth Gamble (formerly Clemons; born June 13, 1970), better known by her stage name Coko, is an American singer-songwriter best known as the lead singer of the R&B vocal trio Sisters With Voices (SWV). Aside from her R&B career, Gamble ...

– songwriting (track 3) *

Tamara Johnson-George Tamara Antrice Johnson-George ( Johnson; born April 29, 1971), best known by her stage/nickname Taj, is an American singer and rapper. She is best known as one-third of the R&B singing group Sisters with Voices ( SWV). She also competed on th ...

– songwriting (track 3) * Leanne Lyons – songwriting (track 3) *

Andrea Martin Andrea Louise Martin (born January 15, 1947) is an American-Canadian actress, singer, and comedian, best known for her work in the television series '' SCTV'' and ''Great News''. She has appeared in films such as '' Black Christmas'' (1974), ''W ...

– songwriting (track 3) *

Ivan Matias Ivan Matias is an Music of the United States, American singer, songwriter, Producer (music), producer, Arrangement, arranger, Hip hop music, hip hop ghostwriter, and Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur. He is primarily known for writing and producing ...

– songwriting (track 3) * Allen Gordon – songwriting (track 3) *

– vocals (track 4), songwriting (track 4) *

– additional production (tracks 4–6), songwriting (tracks 4–6), keyboards (tracks 4–6) *

– co-production (track 4), songwriting (track 4) * G. Ry – co-production (track 4), songwriting (tracks 4, 6), production (track 6) * Bryvn – co-production (track 4), songwriting (track 4), bass (track 4) * PittThaKid – co-production (track 4), songwriting (track 4) * Ace G. – co-production (track 4), songwriting (track 4) * Babyface Ray – vocals (track 5), songwriting (track 5) *

– vocals (track 5), songwriting (track 5) * Carter Lang – additional production (track 6), keyboards (track 6) Technical * David Kim – mixer (tracks 1–3, 5, 6), recording engineer (tracks 5, 6) * Colin Leonard – mastering engineer (tracks 1–6) * Tom Kahre – recording engineer (tracks 1–4, 6) * Michael Miller – assistant recording engineer (tracks 1, 4) * Gregg Rominiecki – mixer (track 4)

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2021 EPs Big Sean albums 2021 collaborative albums Def Jam Recordings albums Albums produced by Hit-Boy Albums produced by Rogét Chahayed