[2] Pablo's first single, "Raise Up", was an instant commercial success, reaching the top 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and receiving heavy airplay on MTV.

[2] Diary of a Sinner: 1st Entry, his debut studio album, was released later in the year and initially sold well due to the success of "Raise Up": however, the follow-up singles "I Told Y'all" and "I" failed to have any major impact on the charts.

[3] He recorded "Freek-a-Leek" following studio sessions with Atlanta rapper Lil Jon, whose popularity had increased following his work with southern hip hop duo the Ying Yang Twins.

[3][4] Before Lil Jon began work with Petey Pablo, at the request of Jive he had made fifteen productions for American rapper Mystikal, who also recorded for the label, although he passed most of them on.

[3][4][5] Meanwhile, thinking that the beat had not been used, Lil Jon gave the production to American singer Usher for his single "Yeah!

[6] A Southern hip hop song of three minutes and fifty-five seconds in length,[7] "Freek-a-Leek" draws heavily from the musical genre of crunk, while being backed by an instrumentation which features a "slowly strolling riff", as well as following a tempo described as "heavy-synthed marching band-inspired".