Paperboi's hit song "Paperboi" is performed in real life by Donald Glover's brother, Steve G. Lover.
Donald Glover pitched the show as "if David Lynch or the Coen brothers made a show about hip-hop culture."
On January 5, 2018, Donald Glover revealed that the second season takes inspiration from Tiny Toon Adventures (1990), specifically Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation (1992).