!!! is pronounced by repeating any three repetitive, monosyllabic sounds. Though the possibilities are endless, the most common pronunciations are Chk Chk Chk, Pow Pow Pow, Uh Uh Uh, Etc Etc Etc. The name was inspired by the subtitles from the film The Gods Must Be Crazy , where three clicking sounds of the mouth were represented as !!!.

The seven members of !!! were raised on a steady diet of free form D.I.Y. music, dispensed within the small, yet flourishing, scene in Sacramento, CA. Although !!!'s former groups, Yah Mos and Popesmashers, were already making music to move to, there was a desire to elevate the groove. So in 1997, !!! formed with no other agenda than to make live dance music.