Aiko initially garnered attention as the purported cousin of Lil' Fizz, a rapper from the American R&B group B2K, though they are not related.

[3] In 2003, her labels released the song "No L.O.V.E" as a CD single, accompanied by a music video that premiered on BET's 106 & Park when she was 15 years old.

[5] In March 2011, Aiko returned to music with the release of her first full-length project, a mixtape titled Sailing Soul(s).

In November 2013, she released her first EP, titled Sail Out, supported by the singles "3:16AM", "Bed Peace" and "The Worst".

In June 2014, she released "To Love & Die", the lead single from her debut studio album Souled Out.