What You Expect

In the legend that is Big Sean’s origin story, the Detroit-hailing MC first got the attention of G.O.O.D. Music label boss Kanye West by ambushing West at a radio appearance and delivering a freestyle so vicious—over the course of West’s walk from the station’s entrance to his car—that Ye was forced to sign him. This movie-script-perfect fantasy of impressing the one person most likely to change your life aside, Big Sean has for the entirety of his career taken great pride in his bars, and *What You Expect*, Sean’s 2021 collaborative project with Fontana, California-based producer Hit-Boy, is no exception. Rapping is the centerpiece here, Sean out to prove that cleverness trumps all, and he’s never in short supply. “Bitch, I ain\'t forcing it/Holiday season I\'m covered in ornaments/This ain\'t a tour, this a tournament/If I was stuck in a room with your shit on repeat, then that shit would be torturous,” he raps on the aptly titled “Chaos.” It’s a quick six-song set with features from Bryson Tiller and Lil Durk (“Loyal to a Fault”) and Detroit connection Babyface Ray and 42 Dugg (“Offense”), but that’s more than enough time for Sean to remind us that he always has rapped to impress—and always will.