The group was formed in the fall of 2008, when Men, Women & Children keyboardist Nick Hook met singer Tiombe Lockhart at a sake bar he worked at. The pair became friends and decided to work on music together. They were joined by keyboardist/percussionist Daud Sturdivant, who worked at the same bar, and Hook's then-bandmate guitarist Todd Weinstock to form Cubic Zirconia.[3] The first release from the group arrived on June 22, 2009, in the form of Fuck Work EP and featured the likes of Dâm-Funk, Dances with White Girls and Nacho Lovers remixing the title track. Later that year Weinstock left Cubic Zirconia to produce other artists as part of Social Security and play guitar in Hussle Club and Gina and The Eastern Block.[4] The remaining members of the group spent late 2009 recording their debut album in Los Angeles. In 2010 Cubic Zirconia released singles "Josephine", "Black & Blue" and "Hoes Come Out at Night" on their own label Don't Cry Recordings, and announced that their debut full-length record, entitled Follow Your Heart would be released in February 2011 via LuckyMe Records.[5] After a few months of release delays, Cubic Zirconia confirmed that they were now signed with Fool's Gold Records, who released the album on September 20, 2011.[6]
