Originally from New York, the hip-hop duo Kane Abel moved to New Orleans as teenagers. When they arrived in New Orleans, they met Mia X, who eventually hooked the duo up with Master P, who helped Kane Abel land a deal with No Limit Records. Their first album, 1996's 7 Sins, was produced by KLC and Mo B. Dick, who formerly worked with Down South Hustlers and Tru. Am I My Brother's Keeper followed in 1998.

The next year, the duo broke from No Limit, starting their own label, Most Wanted, which was distributed through EastWest. Their first effort for the label was Rise to Power, which was released in the fall of 1999. Preceding the release, the twin brothers were arrested in May 1999 for conspiring to distribute cocaine with a convicted drug dealer named Richard Pena. This served as good publicity for their album, particularly as they argued that the bust was a conspiracy that was ultimately aimed at getting the two to testify against Master P. In the end, they ended up plea bargaining and released Most Wanted in late 2000. The album featured Shake It Like a Dog, a popular club hit that eventual became such a success for the underground Southern duo that they re-released the album in summer 2001. The re-release of Most Wanted featured four new bonus tracks, including Show Dat Work (Shake It Like a Dog, Pt. 2) featuring Mystikal. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi