[3] The album's title is a homage to the 1998 hit single of the same name by the hip hop collective Mo Thugs.

Trunk Muzik 3 was released on March 29, 2019,[8] and with his contract finalized, Yelawolf began to work on Ghetto Cowboy.

Yelawolf appears in the film The Peanut Butter Falcon as "Rat Boy", co-starring Shia LaBeouf, Dakota Johnson, Bruce Dern, Thomas Haden Church, and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz.

[14] During a formal announcement of the album, Yelawolf stated "Ghetto Cowboy has been the most gratifying to me as an artist being that it's my first indie release on my own label.

[15] When commenting on the stylistic approach of the album, Yelawolf stated "I ain't reinventing the wheel here, just doing what I love to do, doing what I think is dope and original.

During this announcement, Yelawolf also stated that the album will first be available to stream through YouTube on Halloween, the day before it sees a wide release on November 1, 2019.