A duo called The Herbaliser has been putting out some of the freshest hip-hop beats for over a decade and has played all over the world. The group is a collaboration between Jake Wherry and Ollie Teeba, who have also added other artist as collaborators over the years. Both hail from around London. Wherry grew up listening to jazz and James Brown and started playing in jazz, funk and rock bands at a young age. It took him longer to get into hip-hop that it did Teeba, who was DJing around London by the time he was 15.

They met in college, but didn't start working together until years after that at Wherry's studio. For the first attempt at The Herbaliser, the group brought in artists like DJ Malachi and Ralph Lamp to lend their sounds. It was almost instant magic and the group was quickly signed to Ninja Tune, although the label rarely works with hip-hop artists. The Herbaliser released their first album, Remedies, in 1995 which started with hip-hop and added in Wherry's love of jazz and funk. They followed it up with Blow Your Headphones in 1997, which featured more vocals and brought in new fans and launched the group's first tour.

They continued with their collaborative ways for 1999's Very Mercenary, adding in throwback sounds from the 1960s. It was followed up with Something Wicked This Way Comes in 2002, which explored more of a funk sound for the group. The 2002 album also marked another tour and the rise of The Herbaliser to mainstream success. Their dominance continued with the 2003 release of the mix album Herbal Blend. The duo was also spending time producing while Wherry worked on some solo material, but The Herbaliser would come back together to release Take London in 2005 and Same as It Never Was in 2008.