O Rappa was a Brazilian reggae/rock band from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Combining many styles such as rock, reggae, funk, hip hop and samba, Many of O Rappa's songs contain sharp protests against the social problems in Brazil and the members of the band themselves are supporters of numerous social projects. In 1993, reggae artist Papa Winnie came to Brazil but had no band to play shows with him. He immediately picked four people: Nelson Meirelles, Marcelo Lobato, Alexandre Menezes and Marcelo Yuka as the band. After Papa Winnie's shows, the four decided to stay together picking Falcão as the 5th member and vocalist. In 1994, they released their first album, on Warner, O Rappa. It was initially only known to small groups within the working class suburbs of Rio de Janeiro.

Ini Kamoze is a Jamaican reggae artist who began his career in the early 1980s and rose to prominence in 1994 with the signature song "Here Comes the Hotstepper". Kamoze founded his own label, releasing a compilation album Selekta Showcase which featured a popular Kamoze single titled "Stress". Four years later he released his next album, 16 Vibes of Ini Kamoze. In 1994, Kamoze released the song which would become his signature, "Here Comes the Hotstepper". Adopting another nickname from the song title, Kamoze would become known as the "Hotstepper", from the patois for a man on the run from the law. The song was originally recorded with Philip "Fatis" Burrell and later remixed by Salaam Remi, and initially featured on a reggae music compilation Stir It Up, released on the Epic label. 51 50 Rule album was released in 2009.