Cobra was founded in the spring of 1989 by four female musicians in Beijing. It was initially a cover band that played popular Chinese folk songs and English-language pop rock songs. Cobra saw the start of their popularity when they appeared at the "Concert of Modern Music" event in 1990. They soon released a single, "My own Paradise" in 1992 which appeared in a compilation album called Rocking Beijing. In 1992, one of the early members, Yang Ying, left Cobra. That same year, the band recruited Suo Yi and Lin Xue (Lin Xue would later leave Cobra in 1999). In 1994, Cobra released their first album titled Hypocrisy and released their second album, Cobra II, in 2000. The band soon after disbanded in late 2000, citing the nascent nature of the Chinese rock scene, where chances for better financial rewards and artistic acclaim were few.