Cartel's earnest take on emo⁄pop-punk emerged out of Atlanta around 2004, when vocalist Will Pugh, guitarists Joseph Peppers and Nic Hudson, bassist Ryan Roberts, and drummer Kevin Sanders released an initial EP that caught the ear of the California-based Militia Group label. Militia signed Cartel, and the Ransom EP reappeared under Militia in 2004. The label then released Chroma, Cartel's full-length debut, in September 2005. The album cracked into the Billboard Top 200, as bloggers praised the band and the video for "Honestly" found moderate airtime on MTV. The majors noticed all of this activity, and in early 2006, Cartel inked a deal with Epic. Touring continued through the rest of the year, opening for acts like New Found Glory and the Starting Line. That same year, Roberts decided to leave the band. He was replaced by Jeff Lett, who joined on just in time for their 2006 Warped Tour dates.

The band's biggest marketing break came in May of 2007 when they were invited to do a four-part MTV mini-series called Band in a Bubble. The show followed Cartel as they lived in a giant bubble-shaped structure on Pier 54 in Manhattan and were filmed for 22 days writing and recording their self-titled sophomore album Cartel. Although the album was planned for release in July, just after the band left the bubble, it was postponed while they filmed a video to promote the single "Lose it" and the record didn't officially hit the shelves until August 21st, 2007. ~ Johnny Loftus, All Music Guide