Belgian singer Loïc Nottet rose to fame after finishing second in singing competition "The Voice Belgique" in 2014. He then represented his country at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest with his debut single "Rhythm Inside", and achieved fourth place. The singer also participated in and won the sixth season of French television dance contest "Danse avec les stars" in the same year. For "Selfocracy", Nottet's debut studio album, he composed several songs by himself as he desired to have creative control over the record. He also collaborated with writer Army Morrey and producer Alexandre Germys on a great majority of the album's material, which was recorded at the ICP and Synosound Studios in Brussels, Belgium, as well as at the Rooftop Studio in London, United Kingdom. When creating songs, Nottet would complete a basic instrumentation with his desired sounds, and then reach out to professional producers to "put the nail polish" in accordance to his vision. During an interview, the singer stated that this process took him a year and a half. The first song to be composed for "Selfocracy" was "Mud Blood". The album was originally planned to be called "The Reign of Selfocracy", but its title was shortened "at the last minute". Nottet detailed: