All the while, Jeremih disowned his earlier smashes, and elusive album three was repeatedly delayed. In 2014, 'Don't Tell 'Em' - a bleeping, Snap!-interpolating collaboration with DJ Mustard - went double platinum without a video to promote it, and it was followed in 2015 by the spacious, salacious 'Planes,' another platinum hit. Late Nights with Jeremih and a collaborative EP with Shlohmo, released as free downloads, went over well. He accessorized Top Ten R&B/Hip-Hop singles headlined by Wale, Meek Mill, DJ Khaled, and Natalie La Rose. Jeremih wasn't inactive between his second and third proper albums.

The great magnitude of Jeremih's extracurricular successes, combined with slips the singer pinned on himself and his label, made the five-year separation between All About You and Late Nights: The Album an odd one.