Īfter gaining an underground following, Lion Babe released their debut self-titled extended play digitally on December 15, 2014, alongside the digital release the duo released vinyl and stream versions of the project with two extra songs. The duo subsequently acquired a US record deal with Interscope and a UK deal with Polydor that summer, and kept in touch with Glover who would go to guest on the lead single, "Jump Hi," from their self-titled debut extended play. During SXSW the following March, rapper Childish Gambino (Donald Glover) contacted Lion Babe and asked them to open for him. The duo released "Treat Me Like Fire" in December 2012. The duo went on to name themselves "Lion Babe" which they described as taking on further meaning over time, the name stemmed from Lucas' horoscope sign a Leo and Hervey's hairstyle. Jillian Hervey, speaking to Billboard magazine about the duo's stage name. It's about embracing your uniqueness and rocking it. We wanted there to be a certain duality, like there is with Blondie, with me as the frontwoman, you might think I'm Lion Babe, but it's like, no, we're Lion Babe. This led to Hervey discussing her interest in singing and Goodman encouraged Hervey to try a soulful style of singing similar to that of Lauryn Hill and Erykah Badu. For a dance assignment, she then contacted Lucas for original music. Hervey then moved to New York for college, where she attended The New School. The pair met through a mutual friend at a party where Hervey heard Goodman's music, during this time she introduced herself to Goodman but the pair failed to stay connected, however did follow each other on the social networking website MySpace. During this time he found a vinyl version of Eunice Collins' "At the Hotel 1974" and would go on to sample it for "Treat Me Like Fire." Lucas Goodman began producing in his dorm room at Northeastern University before moving back to New York and interning at retro-minded Truth & Soul Records.
Jillian Hervey, the daughter of actress Vanessa Williams and Ramon Hervey II, initially planned to pursue a career in dancing.