In 1998, Verbal returned for winter break to Japan. During this time, he recorded a rap for a cover of Barbra Streisand's "The Way We Were" that Takahashi was producing. Masaji Asakawa from the DJ group GTS, a contact of Takahashi's, believed the song was very high quality. M-Flo was then officially formed, with Verbal and Takahashi recording many songs together. Asakawa believed one of these songs, "Been So Long," featuring vocals from a mutual friend of both Verbal and Takahashi, Lisa, was high enough quality for him to try to convince Verbal to become a full-time musician. He was convinced and the group debuted as a three-person group (with vocalist Lisa) in 1999 with "The Tripod E.P.," which debuted in the top 10 on the Japanese singles chart.