[4][5] Billboard reported in January 1994 that Jazzyfatnastees' debut album would be among the first releases of Fat House Wreckords, an indie label distributed by Tommy Boy.

[6] However, the group left Tommy Boy in 1995 and lost two members, resulting in a duo consisting of Mercedes Martinez and Tracey Moore.

[4][7] Martinez and Moore remained in Los Angeles for a time, recording with producers who were willing to work for free, but after connecting with Philadelphia-based hip-hop group The Roots, moved to Philadelphia and collaborated on their third studio album, Illadelph Halflife (1996).

[8] Jazzyfatnastees gained attention as backing vocalists for artists including The Pharcyde, Outkast, Meshell Ndegeocello, De La Soul, Stevie Wonder, and The Roots.

[5][10] Stylistically, the album draws on R&B, hip hop soul, and jazz, with Billboard noting that it differed from contemporary hip-hop sounds.

[1][2] The album preceded the neo soul movement, coming out about a year after Erykah Badu's Baduizm but before widespread adoption of the term.

[3] In a single review, Billboard deemed the track "The Wound" to be "jazz-flavored soul" and stylistically similar to Olu, Amel Larrieux, and Erykah Badu.

[8] Moore told Billboard in 2002 that MCA "weren't very supportive of what we were trying to do", and that the label attempted to cut off funding for the recording of their follow-up to The Once and Future.