According to Ne-Yo, the idea for the album emerged from three influences: his desire to do something different instead of a standard compilation; his interest in science fiction, comic books and Japanese animation; and inspiration from the works of Michael Jackson, particularly Thriller, Moonwalker, and Bad.

[4][5] Originally a short movie was to accompany the album, but such proved not to be viable given time and monetary constraints, so Ne-Yo chose to develop a series of six extended music videos instead.

[8] The story follows three garbage men – Jerome, Clyde and Leroy – who are offered everything they have wanted in return for protecting the city against a forthcoming threat.

[citation needed] The album debuted at number 9 on the Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 112,000 copies in the United States.

Andy Kellman of Allmusic gave the album three and a half out of five stars, stating that "Ne-Yo remains a premier source of R&B that is both traditional and contemporary."

Todd Martens of Los Angeles Times gave the album two and a half out of four stars, commenting that "Ultimately it's admirable that Ne-Yo felt the need to take listeners on a out-of-this-world ride, but he's at his best when sticking closer to home."

Elysa Gardner of USA Today gave the album a score of three stars out of four and said, "This electro-savvy song cycle, involving a squad of superheroes and a love interest with a femme fatale alter ego, may not boast Ne-Yo's strongest hooks to date.