The mixtape's name, cover artwork, and release are all inspired by DJ Esco's 2014 arrest and eventual prison sentence for possession of marijuana in the Dubai airport.

After being stopped and searched while leaving the airport, police officers found 15 grams of marijuana in one of his pieces of luggage.

[3] Though he at first assumed the ordeal would be over quickly, Esco ended up spending 56 days in an Abu Dhabi prison before being released and returning to the United States on January 13, 2015.

After reconnecting with Future, the pair immediately decided to release 56 Nights together, pulling only songs from the now recovered hard drive, naming the mixtape after the length of Esco's time in prison and using Arabic text to create the cover artwork in reference to his new understanding of the language.

[6] On April 9, 2020, Future released 56 Nights on all music streaming services, making the mixtape widely available for the first time ever.