Following years of collaborations between the two artists, What You Expect is the debut joint extended play by Detroit MC Big Sean and Grammy-nominated producer Hit-Boy.
The project’s lead single, “What A Life,” was released on October 22, 2021, and six days later, both artists announced the project and its complete details the day before its release. Sean revealed that they had initially only planned to drop one single but spontaneously decided to release the entire project.