It was Fishbone's first studio album in three years following the departure of founding members Kendall Jones and Chris Dowd and the band being dropped by Sony Records.

The band's recent experiences prompted the album's themes of racism and music industry practices, and Chim Chim's Badass Revenge includes some of the band's heaviest songs, such as the hardcore punk title track, "Riot" and "Psychologically Overcast" (the latter featuring guest vocals by Busta Rhymes).

The album was produced by Dallas Austin, who said he wanted to take Fishbone to the next level as Rick Rubin had done with Red Hot Chili Peppers.

[4] In 1997, Austin would use Fishbone as the backing band for Amoeba Cleansing Syndrome, the second album by R&B singer Joi Gilliam.

The song "Alcoholic" was written by Angelo Moore in his teenage years and was inspired by his uncle before the band was signed to Sony Records and appears on their original demo.