R&B singer-songwriter Amel Larrieux grew up in New York's Greenwich Village; her mother, Brenda Dixon Gottschild, was a dance critic and professor, and she was raised in an artistic environment. She formed Groove Theory, a duo with former Mantronix member Bryce Wilson (AKA Bryce Luvah), which signed to Epic Records and scored a gold-selling Top Ten pop and R&B hit in October 1995 with "Tell Me," followed by the Groove Theory album, which hit the Top 20 of the R&B charts. In 1996, Larrieux was a vocalist on the self-titled album by Sweetback, an instrumental group made up of former members of Sade's backup band, which reached the charts.