The production on the album was handled by Helluva, London on da Track, The Breed, Chopsquad DJ, The Olympicks, and Infamous Rell.

In a statement by Tee Grizzley, he explained the significance of the album title, by stating: My whole life I saw everybody else get shine.

[5] The album's lead single, "Colors", was released for digital download on February 2, 2018, along with the Nick Margetic and Everett Stewart-directed music video.

The album's second single, "Don't Even Trip" featuring Moneybagg Yo, was released on March 14, 2018.

Activated debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 chart, earning 27,000 album-equivalent units (including 4,000 copies of pure album sales) in its first week.