 During her time with the band No Doubt , Stefani began making solo appearances on albums by artists ; including Eve and Moby . In the production of its fifth studio album , Rock Steady ( 2001 ) , No Doubt collaborated with Prince , the Neptunes and David A. Stewart and had Mark " Spike " Stent mixing the album . While the band was on tour to promote the album , Stefani listened to Club Nouveau 's 1987 's single " Why You Treat Me So Bad " and considered recording material that modernized 1980s music . No Doubt 's bassist and her former boyfriend , Tony Kanal , introduced her to music by Prince , Lisa and Cult Jam , and Debbie Deb , and they talked about producing songs from Kanal 's bedroom . 
