The album includes production by JetsonMade, Mike Will Made It, Pi'erre Bourne, Earl on the Beat, K Swisha, and Lil Yachty himself, among others.

On August 10, 2019, Lil Yachty made his first official announcement of the project while on an Instagram live stream with frequent collaborator Trippie Redd.

[1] Yachty later said that in terms of production, he was working with producers The Alchemist, Ronny J, Pi'erre Bourne, Earl on the Beat, and his brother.

[5] Lil Yachty recorded the album four times over before submitting the final effort to his label in early 2020, stating he went through "many different phases of creativity".

[8] To accompany the track, Lil Yachty released a 9-minute mini movie in which he acts as famous talk show host Oprah Winfrey.

[11] In a lukewarm review, AllMusic's Fred Thomas wrote, "Yachty's progress mostly shows up in his drive to push his music to new places, but he takes steps backwards by overpadding Lil Boat 3 with too many similar, unnecessary tracks".

[14] Ryan Feyre of RapReviews praised the album, stating, "Lil Boat 3 finds Yachty syncopating and stretching beyond his naturally baritone voice.

He sounds more self-aware than ever, channeling his beloved infectious energy as the main driver for the album, rather than his erratic lyrical ability".