Shea Butter Baby is Ari Lennox’s debut studio album and the follow-up to her 2016 EP, PHO. The project boasts a pair of guest appearances from J.I.D and J. Cole. The project’s lead single, “Whipped Cream,” was released on July 16, 2018. Later that year, Ari debuted the J. Cole-featuring title track for the Creed II soundtrack, which was released on November 16, 2018. The album’s third single, “Up Late,” was released on April 30, 2019, exactly a week before the album. Along with the single came the album’s official artwork and tracklist. Ari released several other promotional singles ahead of the album. “Grampa” and “40 Shades of Choke” were released on November 9, 2018, and “No One” and “Pedigree” were released on November 13, 2018. However, none of these singles were included on the album.