"When You Gonna Learn" was not the first single written and issued by Jay Kay, though it is the first single as Jamiroquai. Kay's first single was actually a white label acetate called "Natural Energy", which was pressed only in three copies. Kiss 100 FM was the first radio station to play the single. The chord progressions of the song bear a striking resemblance to the chord progressions of a Johnny "Hammond" Smith's track called "Los Conquistadores Chocolatés", taken from his 1975 album "Gears".