Planned as "a biography" in the album's booklet, "Slave to the Rhythm" is a concept album, produced by ZTT Records founder and producer Trevor Horn. "Slave to the Rhythm" was released in 1985, three years after her last album "Living My Life" as she had taken a break and began to act in movies such as "Conan the Destroyer" in 1984 and in the James Bond film "A View to Kill" in 1985. The album was her first set of funk and R&B albums.