The mixtape was released online on February 5, 2012, coinciding with Super Bowl Sunday, at 10:17 a.m.—a reference to Gucci Mane's label, 1017 Bricksquad.

Trap Back was conceived as a "comeback mixtape" to revive the rapper's reputation and career, which had stalled for years due to ongoing legal troubles and other personal setbacks.

Lyrically, Gucci Mane raps on the mixtape about topics familiar to his past work, such as drugs, sex, and life in the trap.

The recording sessions marked Gucci Mane's first sustained collaboration with Mike Will Made It, who was at the time an up-and-coming producer in the Atlanta hip hop scene.

While the two had previously worked together on individual tracks, Gucci Mane's lead producer had usually been Zaytoven; Mike Will had never before been as deeply involved with the rapper's musical direction or recording process until these sessions.

In addition to producing five songs, Mike Will stayed in-studio for the duration of the sessions to provide the rapper with both encouragement and, at times, blunt critiques.

Critics generally praised the mixtape for Gucci Mane's clever lyricism and its innovative production, particularly Mike Will Made It's contributions.

As several critics wrote in hindsight following the 2012 release of Trap Back, Gucci Mane had seemed likely to cross-over from a hardcore hip-hop audience into mainstream pop success.

[2][3] According to Andrew Nosnitsky, Gucci Mane had "the type of feverish, mixtape-driven buzz that had previously predicted mainstream takeovers from 50 Cent and Lil Wayne.

[12] According to a report from the DeKalb County Police Department, the charges stemmed from a January 2011 incident when a woman recognized Gucci Mane and got into his car.

[18] Although the three months at GDCP had been one of his shortest stints behind bars, there were significant developments in the Atlanta hip hop scene during his brief absence—notably, the rise to prominence of the producer Mike Will Made It and the rappers 2 Chainz and Future.

[26] In addition to Mike Will, Trap Back features beats from Zaytoven, Southside, Sonny Digital, Lex Luger, Polow da Don, Drumma Boy, Fatboi, and K.E.

Mike Will remained in-studio throughout the entire recording sessions for Trap Back, even when Gucci Mane was working on other producers' beats.

Less than a week after Gucci Mane's release from jail, his close friend and 1017 Records labelmate Slim Dunkin was shot and killed.

"[29] Gucci Mane said he appreciated Mike Will's critiques, and both have said they had a high level of mutual creative trust during the mixtape's recording sessions.

[30][29] Trap Back opens with a phone call recorded from prison: a message to Gucci Mane from the Black Mafia Family boss Demetrius "Big Meech" Flenory, known for his affiliation with rapper Jeezy.

The bluster and pomp of the Lex Luger-inspired 2010/2011 explosion has been transplanted by an insidious stalk and the subtle change can be explained as a shift in emphasis from the snare to the bass drum.

[38]"Plain Jane", a track that uses a low-pass filter to make the beat sound submerged underwater, serves as an example of the mixtape's production aesthetic and Mike Will's typical style.

[44] While critics noted the topics of Gucci Mane's raps were often familiar, they praised his creative lyricism, inventive word play, and innovative flow.

[61] Trap Back received generally positive reviews from critics, which pleased Gucci Mane and made him feel that the effort he had put into the mixtape had been worthwhile.

[63] Critics generally agreed that Gucci Mane's lyrics and vocal delivery represented a significant improvement compared to his recent projects.

[33][2][64] In a preliminary review, Tom Breihan at Stereogum said on first impression Trap Back "the sharpest thing he's done in quite some time," called Gucci mane's raps "remarkably coherent", and said "the beat to 'Plain Jane' will rearrange your whole shit.

"[65] When Stereogum named Trap Back as its "Mixtape of the Week", Breihan wrote that it was a "ridiculously entertaining hour of rap music", noting Davis's inventive flow and the high quality of the production.

[64] Dubbing Trap Back a "great" mixtape, Jayson Greene of Pitchfork wrote "like all his best music, it is colorful and interesting and flagrantly dumb and sneakily clever, all at once.

"[2] The only mostly negative review came from HipHopDX, whose Phillip Mlynar said "the project reinforces the limits of Gucci's trap rap spiel and leaves the suspicion that his popularity has already peaked.

[66] Andrew Nosnitsky wrote for MTV.com that Trap Back evinced a major effort on Gucci Mane's part to avoid complacency and stagnation, comparable to Jay-Z's resurgent performance on Watch the Throne (2011).

[44] Baker felt the lyrics had weak spots and rehashed well-worn topics, but wrote that "[e]ven when he's saying the same thing in only slightly new ways, Gucc does it with flair.

A year after its release, Lawrence Burney wrote in XXL that the mixtape had represented a "return to form" for Gucci Mane and had "brought back the animated metaphors and sheer ignorance that were driven perfectly through his barely-understandable, muffled delivery.

"[72] Reviewing Gucci Mane's Mr. Davis in 2017, Evan Rytlewski said the rapper was "making his most engaging music since his Trap Back/Trap God resurgence" and moving into a third "legacy-defining hot streak".

Chicago-based electronic musician DJ Rashad sampled the title track from Trap Back for a juke/footwork beat, which can be found on Teklife Volume 1 – Welcome to the Chi (2012).