Larrieux cites Ella Fitzgerald, Prince, Sade, Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder, Shawn Colvin, Chaka Khan, John Lennon, Patrice Rushen, Jimi Hendrix, and Joni Mitchell as her musical influences.

In 1996, Larrieux guested on the self-titled debut album of Sade's backing band Sweetback, yielding the single "You Will Rise", which reached number 42 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

[4] Husband Laru Larrieux, who had been co-writing and producing most of Amel's material, started the independent label Blisslife Records with her to distribute her music.

It spawned the midtempo radio single "For Real", which showcases her ability to utilize the whistle register and inspired Ebony magazine to rave about her "ethereal high-octave vocals that bring to mind Minnie Riperton.

[6] A portion of the album's seventh track, "Giving Something Up", could be heard in the commercial for BET's HIV/AIDS awareness campaign Rap-It-Up, in which Larrieux participated in September 2003.

Larrieux's third album Morning was released in April 2006 and features the single "Weary", which reached number 29 on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay chart in May 2006.

Larrieux was featured on 2Pac's 2007 greatest hits album Best of 2Pac Part 1: Thug, on the previously unreleased song "Resist the Temptation".

[11] In March 2009, Larrieux released the songs "Orange Glow" and "Don't Let Me Down" from her fifth studio album, Ice Cream Every Day, to iTunes and other online music stores.

When asked about the five-year delay on her fifth album, Larrieux said she wanted to add and delete more songs to perfect the final product.

"My experiences inform me as a writer, so then I come back and I have more songs to write, and I keep adding and subtracting, so the editing process made this album take a little bit longer than I expected.