Both members were born and raised in the 1970s, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their earlier credits include releases for California-based artists Luniz, 3X Krazy, Keak da Sneak, Dawn Robinson of En Vogue, and Dr. Dre. In 1997, they began work on what was to become the supergroup Lucy Pearl's debut album; the group was composed of Saadiq, Robinson, and Ali Shaheed of A Tribe Called Quest.[2] It was during this time they developed their working relationship with Saadiq;[3] their production on his debut album Instant Vintage (2002) included pressing the vocals onto acetate, then "scratching them into the tracks".[4][1]