Big Sean & Hit-Boy’s chemistry is on point in “What You Expect.”

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TOP 3

 

3. The One

Big Sean really pours his heart out in “The One.”

On the real, throughout this mixtape, Big Sean pours his heart out. What makes “The One” a little different from the other tracks on this album is that it features an instrumental that is a little more gentle than the other instrumentals on the album. It also features a version of Sean that seems more perturbed, more exact with his words, and more aggressive (His punchlines in this song are top-notch).

 

 

2. What A Life

Big Sean goes ham, cheese, mayo, secret sauce, and eggs (Some people like eggs in their club sandwiches) in “What A Life.”

“What A Life” is powered by a menacing, action-packed Hit-Boy beat. Over it, Big Sean feverishly raps about everything from being a hard worker to being a playboy to being highly successful.

What you are going to love about “What A Life” is how Big Sean sounds dismissive and competitive throughout the song. How much do you want to bet that he recorded the song after reading the rave reviews that he got for his MTV Cribs episode?

 

 

1. Chaos

“Chaos” sets the tone for What You Expect fantastically.

As soon as “Chaos” gets started, you know something serious is about to go down. The beat that powers the song is on some new-school Godzilla s**t. Over the beat, Big Sean uses a myriad of decibel levels, flows, and deliveries to let us know that he’s an expert at getting to the money, proving haters wrong, and reaching his potential in any given situation.

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SONG BY SONG BREAKDOWN

1. Chaos (5/5)

2. Into It (4/5)

3. The One (5/5)

4. Loyal To A Fault (3/5)

5. Offense (3/5)

6. What A Life (5/5)

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RGM RATING

(B-)

 

Why doesn’t Big Sean get the same love as the Kendrick Lamars, J. Coles, or Drakes of the world? Matter of fact, I’m not even sure he gets the same love as someone like a Cordae at this point. In my humble opinion, Sean is more than capable of going bar for bar with any rapper in the game. Well, it seems like he knows that we underrate him because he raps with a chip on his shoulder throughout What You Expect.

I know Big Sean is the main act on this EP, but do not sleep on Hit-Boy’s contributions to the project. Throughout What You Expect, Sean raps over everything from gentle to action-packed to Detroit-styled hip-hop beats (Each beat knocks, too). The versatility Hit shows on the EP is amazing. As for Big Sean, he really does a good job of trying to break down each beat that he is handed by hurling all kinds of flows and deliveries at it. At the end of the day, Sean’s most useful contributions to this EP are his wise words about his career, his relationships (Or lack-there-of), his revelations, and more. It’s almost like he thrives in situations in which he needs to come across as relatable.

If I had it my way, there would be no features on this album. The f**k we need a Lil Durk and Big Sean song for (S**t, one is little and the other is big)? I understand that Big Sean is from Detroit, but I don’t need him to constantly remind us that he is by placing these cookie-cutter Detroit posse cuts on his projects. Sean needed this album to be just him and Hit-Boy.

Do you know what’s interesting? This album’s title is What You Expect without a question mark. What that means is that Big Sean and Hit-Boy want to convince us that they have a great gauge of what we want from them. Even though they give us exactly what we want on this EP, why do I still feel unsatisfied after it is finished?