When they were listening to the track, Victor thought it would be a good idea to add Tyga because he and Pop Smoke were friends that would talk to each other all the time.
[2][4] The song was written by Pop Smoke, known as Bashar Jackson, alongside Quavo, Tyga, Mustard, and BongoByTheWay, who have the respective real names of Quavious Marshall, Michael Stevenson, Dijon McFarlane, and Uforo Ebong.
[5] "West Coast Shit" prominently interpolates the lyrics of Too Short's 2003 single, "Shake That Monkey", standing as one of several tracks from Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon to utilize early 2000s songs.
[6] Slant Magazine's Charles Lyons-Burt said that "West Coast Shit" contains a "minimalist piano and snare combination".
"[9] On July 3, 2020, "West Coast Shit" was released as the 11th track on Pop Smoke's debut posthumous studio album Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon.
[12] David Crone of AllMusic opined Tyga "squeez[es] his way ahead of the Quavo [and] Pop [Smoke]" throughout the whole song.
[7] Hannah Giorgis of The Atlantic commented the song is a "rare misfire, pushing Pop [Smoke] so far into commercial-sounding production that it overtakes his strongest sensibilities".
[15] Gary Suarez of Entertainment Weekly said Pop Smoke stands out on the song, and described it as an "inexplicably slight Mustard-helmed" track.
[8] Following the release of Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon, "West Coast Shit" debuted and peaked at number 65 on the US Billboard Hot 100.