Songfacts®:

• In 2017, Kanye West fled Los Angeles for Jackson Hole, Wyoming, so he could focus on his music and fashion without distractions. Two years later, West purchased two ranches near Cody in the Cowboy state, where he recorded his Donda album. This song finds him rapping about how he "brought his life out of the trench" and went "off the grid" in the off-the-beaten-path location. There, he could concentrate on his work and raise his children away from the hustle-bustle of LA.
• Atlanta mumble rapper Playboi Carti and New York drill rapper Fivio Foreign contribute guest verses. Both MCs talk about their reckless way of life, with Carti describing himself as "off the grid," and Foreign explaining God created him to be that way.
• An early version of "Off The Grid" with Playboi Carti but not Fivio Foreign was leaked after West played it in Belgium in December 2020. Fans heard Foreign on the track for the first time when it was included in the second Donda listening party at Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium on August 5, 2021.
• West was still tweaking his bars in the run-up to the listening party and lived at Mercedes Benz Stadium as he worked on the album. He refers to watching a soccer game after the first Donda listening event.
  
  I talk to God everyday, that's my bestie
  They playin' soccer in my backyard, I think I see Messi
  
  West was spotted in the crowd at Atlanta United FC's MLS match against the Columbus Crew, which took place on July 24, 2021. The reference to Argentinean soccer star Lionel Messi is poetic license; he wasn't playing at the match as he was negotiating his future with Barcelona at the time.
• West co-produced the track with:
  
  Mike WiLL Made-It's in house producer 30 Roc (Cardi B's "Bartier Cardi," Roddy Ricch's "The Box").
  
  Writing and producing duo Ojivolta (Mark Williams and Raul Cubina). They contributed to 18 of the 27 Dondra tracks.
  
  AyoAA, David x Eli and Sloan also helped with the production.
• Fivio Foreign spent three months in jail after being arrested for running from the police and possessing a loaded gun. Two days after his July 13, 2021 release, the Brooklyn rapper hit up Funk Flex on Hot 97 to drop off a freestyle. Kanye West told N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN on their rap podcast Drink Champs it was the drill rapper's just-out-of-prison freestyle that made him want to recruit him for "Off The Grid."