Zayion McCall, a rapper from Detroit, Michigan, was into singing and dancing as a youngster, inspired by watching the video for Chris Brown's "Run It!" McCall gave up his singing aspirations after his voice changed, and he eventually got into rhyming. Positive reception to early clips uploaded to social media platforms, as well as support from his father, led to the recording of the 19-track album Cold War, released independently in 2016. Earlier, fellow Detroiter Zay Hilfigerrr had asked McCall to collaborate on "Juju on That Beat," a track with a production rooted in Crime Mob's 2004 single "Knuck If You Buck." Sparked by a video by Fresh the Clowns, a dance group affiliated with Universoul Circus, "Juju on That Beat" became a viral hit in 2016 due to various dancers uploading their own performances backed by the song. Major label Atlantic gave the track an official release that September with "TZ Anthem" parenthetically added to the title. Within a couple weeks, the single was just outside the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100