Zebda was first formed in 1985 when Magyd Cherfi, a community organizer at the time, organized a small group of his musician friends to shoot a video for a community organization for which he was working. More members joined the group later—several of the members met one another through involvement in community projects geared towards supporting arts and music involvement among Toulouse youth. The group began performing together regularly in 1988. The band gained widespread recognition when they performed at the Printemps de Bourges music festival in 1990 and then performed on an international tour which included venues in Great Britain, Italy and France.