“Different Day” was surprise-released on December 8, 2023, in a post made to the Opium Instagram account. The post featured an accompanying music video for the song and the following caption:

You can’t judge something if there is no ..
criteria #IAMMUSIC

This song is Carti’s first solo offering in nearly three years, following the release of his widely acclaimed December 2020 album, Whole Lotta Red.

After the music video’s release, Atlanta videographer Yung Tacc took to Instagram to post a version that included narration by South Carolina disk jockey DJ Swamp Izzo.