Production was handled by a variety of record producers, including Monte Booker, Childish Major, Christo, Cardiak, Kaytranada, DJ Scheme, Khrysis, and James Blake, among others.

[3] Our Generation Music wrote: "With a forthcoming album that's been in the works for nearly a half decade, fans could ironically call the wait for JID's next project 'The Forever Story.

"[7] In March 2020, JID began working on the album at the Spillage Village studio house in Atlanta with members of the group expected make appearances.

The production was mainly handled by Christo, Monte Booker, Kaytranada, James Blake, Thundercat, DJ Khalil, Childish Major, Groove, Tommy Brown and Cardiak, among others.

[10] JID began teasing his third studio album in 2019 through use of social media, but promotion did not begin until January 2022, when the lead single, "Surround Sound", was released.

[18]The original outro for the album, "2007", is a narrative-driven song that tells the story of JID's upbringing and college experience from an aspiring football player to a rapper.

[20] Ben Broyd of Clash praised the album, saying "JID's latest release is a wonderful insight into the rapper's formative years, and ultimately through the introspective manner allows for an enthralling listen.

[22] Writing for Pitchfork, Dylan Green called it "a sprawling and sometimes frustrating bridge between JID's upbringing and his place within hip-hop canon and Black history at large".

[23] In an anonymously written assessment for AllMusic, the reviewer claimed that it was "an album every bit as ambitious and monumental as the two solo studio outings that preceded it" and felt it demonstrated that JID was, "growing in terms of technical talent while also opening up more lyrically.