The song was written by Alban with Ari Lehtonen and Jorge Vasconcelo.

It peaked at number-one in Finland, number seven in Hungary and number eleven in Sweden, as well as topping the Swedish dance chart, with a total of 11 weeks inside that chart.

On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Born in Africa" reached number 91 in April 1996.

Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "It's not often that remixes make a difference, but in this you get two radio hits for the price of one.

The original radio version has an up-tempo reggae rhythm and a poppy chorus, while Pierre J's Radio Remix is fast, hard techno with exotic background vocals and dubs.