In August 1996, Khali got signed with Capitol Records and released her self-titled debut album Simbi Khali, which was a moderate success, selling 10,000 copies. Three singles from the self-titled album received minor airplay R&B stations: "Strung Out on You", "Love's Got a Hold on Me", and "Anywhere You Want". That next year, she provide guest vocals on the remake of The Emotions's "Don't Ask My Neighbor with Tisha Campbell and Tichina Arnold off the 1997 film, Sprung. She appeared in several music videos in the 1990s, including two for Jesse Powell, "I Wasn't With It" and "Bout It, Bout It", and Toni Braxton ("You're Makin' Me High")