Born in Bordeaux, France, but raised for several years in Chad, sisters, élène and Célia Faussart, put a very modern spin on European black music in the late 90s. Their skilful cross genre fusion of the smooth hip-hop sounds of Arrested Development and De La Soul, the club-based soul music of Soul II Soul and Des'ree, and traditional African roots music, became a notable US success in 1999.

The sisters' French father and Cameroonian mother encouraged them to sing from an early age and their time in Africa exposed the girls to a wide spectrum of music. Inspired by a meeting with jazz singer Abbey Lincoln, they began to establish themselves on the French music scene. Their debut album was recorded in England and France with a stellar list of European session musicians, with beats provided by DJ Mounir Belkhir. Prior to the album's release in September 1998 the sisters were featured on the Jazz A Saint Germain compilation.

“Princesses Nubiennes” included the pro-African tracks 'Makeda' and 'Bebela', while 'Sugar Cane', the only English language track on the album, was a forthright examination of black history. The album also featured 'Tabou', a highly commercial rewrite of Sade 's 1985 hit single, 'The Sweetest Taboo'.