In May 2018, Dr. Dre leaked the title to Paak's third album, Oxnard Ventura during an Instagram livestream. However, the title of his third album was later changed to Oxnard. Paak has stated in interviews that Dre let him have more freedom with the production on Ventura, following the more tightly produced Oxnard. In a March 2019 interview for Esquire, he said, "[Dre] let me have a lot of leeway on Ventura. He was like, it seems like you got it. I spread my wings on the production and on the writing and on these collaborations". The album was released on April 12, 2019, just six months after his last full-length album, Oxnard, which Paak wrote and recorded at the same time.
