Milky Way is Bas’ third studio album, following 2014’s Last Winter and 2016’s Too High to Riot. The fourteen-track album boasts features from J. Cole, A$AP Ferg, Ari Lennox, and two appearances from Correy C. Production on the album is provided by Childish Major, J. Cole, Ron Gilmore, Meez, and more. Cole notably provided post-production and drum patterns on several tracks. To promote the album, Bas frequently discussed things in terms of milk, and he regularly used the milk emoji. Bas discreetly revealed the album’s title as early as June 15, 2017, when he tweeted: On April 10, 2018, Bas released the promotional single “Pinball II,” which features Correy C. On May 17, 2018, LION BABE released Bas' remix of “Rockets.” The song was later repurposed for Milky Way and included as a bonus track, retitled “Spaceships + Rockets.” The album’s first official single, “Boca Raton,” which features A$AP Ferg, was released on June 19, 2018. On August 7, 2018, Bas hosted an album listening party and video shoot in Miami. On August 9, 2018, along with the release of the music video for “Boca Raton,” Bas officially announced the album’s title and release date. The album’s second official single, “Tribe,” which features J. Cole, was released on August 22, 2018. On August 23, 2018, less than twelve hours before the album’s release, Bas revealed the cover art and tracklist.