On Expensive Shit, Fela chronicles a failed attempt to imprison him for possession of weed in 1974. At this time, Nigeria was under a military dictatorship that had declared a war on indecency. Fela's insubordination infuriated the government, and they repeatedly raided his compound, Kalakuta. During one of the raids, an officer produced a joint from his own pocket and attempted to plant it on Fela, which Fela then swallowed. He was immediately taken to prison, where the police waited three days for him to "produce" an incriminating sample. When the time came, police took Fela's sample for analysis and found nothing. Each night, Fela and his cellmates had swapped their slop buckets around, allowing Fela to relieve himself without the authorities realizing it. By the time of the public shit, there was no marijuana left in his system. The police had no choice but to let him go.

This 50th Anniversary edition is pressed on gold nugget vinyl, packaged in a trifold jacket that features elements of the original vinyl packaging alongside newly licensed images, a dossier envelope with poster, print, and newspaper clipping, wrapped with a metallic gold foil band.