Nicolay Sereba of Norwegian-Ivorian origin and Vincent Dery of Ghanaian origin created their music as a fusion of genres as diverse as pop to reggae to soul,[3] having been exposed by the various musical influences of their parents with whom they did recurring trips to the West Coast of Africa.

[6] They won first place at the Taubertal Open Air Festival World's "Emergenza Final" for new emerging artists and their live backing touring band consists of fellow NISS students and friends of the duo include bassist Halvor Rollag and Chriss Rune Olsen Angvik from Red Hot and multi-insturmentalist and producer Magnus "Magnify" Martinsen and drummer Svein Inge Bjørkedal and keyboardist Daniel Strand from 2011 until 2015 as this also enhanced their live sound .

It was put together in a deliberate effort to present a positive side of Africa when the image of the continent is too often mired in negative news stories.

[12] They performed "Am I Wrong" at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, as well as for the television show Dancing with the Stars in Los Angeles.

[15] Their album Black Star Elephant was released in September 2014, followed by the single "When the Day Comes" in October 2014.

[16] Nico & Vinz were featured on a track of David Guetta's 2014 album Listen, named "Lift Me Up" along with South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

"That's How You Know", featuring Kid Ink and Bebe Rexha, was released as the first single from the EP and peaked at number 2 in both Norway and Australia.

In November 2017, Nico & Vinz released their new EP Elephant In The Room including their new singles "Intrigued" and "Listen".