On “Cold December,” Rod Wave raps about his previous relationships over a soulful trap instrumental that samples Hank William Jr.’s “O.D.’d in Denver”. The track first surfaced as a snippet through Rod’s Instagram story in summer 2021 and was leaked shortly after, being met with a positive reaction by fans.

Despite Rod saying the track would “probably never” drop, it was eventually released following pressure from his label as it finalized his contract with them. During an Instagram live session in January 2022, Rod explained:

I was in a $15 million deal contract that I was trying to close on and they was like, ‘They need that song,’ so that’s the only reason why I dropped that shit. But I wasn’t never gon' drop that shit if you want to be technical.

Hours before the song was officially released, Rod performed the song in its entirety to a crowd in Nashville. He dropped a music video the following day, marking his first release of 2022.