Considered by many to be one of the pioneers of the 'world music' genre, Osibisa was formed by African expats in London in 1969. The founder and still current band leader, saxophonist, flautist, singer and songwriter is Teddy Osei, who was active in the music scene of his native Ghana during the early 1960s before moving to London to study on a music scholarship. The band's name is derived from the word Osibisaba, which in the Fanti language of Ghana means 'highlife', a style of African music characterized by jazz horns and powerful guitars rhythms.

After getting the attention of international music community with their first album in 1971, Osibisa joined Curtis Mayfield for work on the soundtrack of the seminal Blaxploitation film Superfly, and went on to record over a dozen studio albums, which included countless high-charting singles in both Britain and the United States. The band's fusion of African music with that of the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as including elements of jazz, rock, soul and R'n'B, has served as an example for countless other international artists over the years, and has also kept them sounding fresh and contemporary well into the 21st century.