Shelby is Lil Skies' debut album, themed around his life and his experiences through it. It features two notable ATLiens Gucci Mane and Gunna, and the return of Landon Cube from his critically-acclaimed debut mixtape, Life of a Dark Rose. In an press release published by Billboard, Skies commented on Shelby, “It’s my first real project. It’s like a new beginning. This is really like me being born again.“ Shelby is also dedicated to his mother, who is shown in the cover art with Skies. The album was originally supposed to release in January, but it was postponed by alleged reasons having to do with his record label, Atlantic Records.