It has adopted aspects of dances such as forró, salsa, merengue, maxixe and the carimbó. The dance became internationally popular in the 1980s, especially in Latin America and Caribbean countries. Lambada is a dance from Pará, Brazil, of African origin. The band disbanded in 1998 but reformed again in 2006. In 1991, Kaoma released the album Tribal-Pursuit which provided the singles 'Danca Tago-Mago' and 'Moço do dende'. At the 1990 Lo Nuestro Awards, Kaoma won two awards for Pop Group of the Year and New Pop Artist of the Year. The same year, the band released its first album Worldbeat which achieved worldwide success,becoming,along with Beto Barbosa, one of the legends of Brazilian lambada. It reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart. 'Lambada' peaked at number 46 on the U.S. 'Dançando Lambada' and 'Mélodie d'amour' were the next two singles and were also hit singles, although they failed to earn the same success as 'Lambada'. Given Kaoma's clear act of plagiarism and release of their single without Los Kjarkas' permission, Los Kjarkas successfully sued. They are best known for their 1989 hit single, 'Lambada', a direct cover of Brazilian singer-songwriter Márcia Ferreira's 1986 dance hit 'Chorando se foi,' which itself was a legally authorized Portuguese-translated rendition of the original 1981 slow ballad, 'Llorando se fue' by the Bolivian group Los Kjarkas.

Chyco Dru is from Martinique, Jacky Arconte from Guadeloupe, and Loalwa Braz from Brazil. Kaoma is a French-Brazilian pop group made up of former members of the band Touré Kunda: Chyco Dru (bassist), Jacky Arconte (guitarist), Jean-Claude Bonaventure (producer and keyboardist), Michel Abihssira (drums and percussion), Fania (vocals), and Loalwa Braz (lead singer), Chico and Roberta (dancers).

Musica forro chorando se foi