Lupe Fiasco announced the album on September 13, 2018, revealing its release date, cover art and track listing via Twitter.

[6][7] On March 15, 2013, Fiasco released a song called "Jonylah Forever" on his SoundCloud page in honor of the 6-month-old infant Jonylah Watkins, who was shot five times while her father was changing her diaper in a minivan and imagines what the infant's life could have been had she survived the March 11 shooting.

[8][9] On October 24, 2014, Fiasco released a song called "Haile Selassie" featuring longtime contributor Nikki Jean in which he stands up for equality and justice.

The song is thematically linked to "Jonylah Forever", which also explored an alternative reality of a young child who was killed.

[12] "WAV Files" details the core concept of the album, the Myth of the Long Chains.

[14] Drogas Wave debuted at number 60 on the US Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 11,099 copies in the United States.