Jamiroquai were one of the original proponents of London acid jazz along with Incognito, the Brand New Heavies, Galliano, and Corduroy. Matching a ‘Jam’ session with "iroquai" (based on the Iroquois, a Native American tribe), the band’s line up has undergone many changes, the long serving members are lead singer and songwriter Jason "Jay" Kay (who decided to form the band after an unsuccessful audition with the Brand New Heavies) and drummer Derrick McKenzie (who has been with Jamiroquai since 1994).

Jamiroquai's first single, "When You Gonna Learn", was released in 1992 on the Acid Jazz label, and following its success, Kay signed an album record deal with Sony BMG Music Entertainment. Debut Sony album, “Emergency on Planet Earth” was released in 1993 and was followed in 1994 by “The Return of the Space Cowboy”. Despite these 2 albums’ success in developing their fan base in the UK and Europe, Jamiroquai remained anonymous in the US and other parts of the world, until third album “Travelling Without Moving” was released in 1996. The singles "Virtual Insanity" and "Cosmic Girl" proved to be massive hits, with the Jonathan Glazer directed video for “Virtual Insanity” scooping 4 awards at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards (“Best Video”, “Best Special Effects”, “Best Cinematography” and “Breakthrough Video”).

Fourth album “Synkronized” was released in 1999, and fifth LP “A Funk Odyssey” (2001) was hot on its heels, and, despite the departure of some original band members, including Wallis Buchanan and his didgeridoo, first single, "Little L" reached number 1 in many charts worldwide. After a 4 year break, "Dynamite" was offered in June 2005, reaching number 3 on the UK Album charts, helped by singles "Feels Just Like It Should", "Seven Days in Sunny June" and "(Don't) Give Hate A Chance".

Having announced their switch to Columbia Records in March 2006, Jamiroquai released a greatest hits collection, “High Times: Singles 1992-2006” in November 2006, which represented the end of their contract with Sony (with Kay remarking that it was released purely out of contractual obligation). It reached number 1 on the UK Album chart after its first week of release, and featured 2 new tracks, "Runaway" and "Radio".

In January 2008, the band confirmed that the recording process for their next LP had begun, with 11 tracks already written (but with no names known).

Jamiroquai have sold over 21 million records worldwide.