Makonnen was born on April 12, 1989,[3] in South Los Angeles, California,[4] and was named after Tafari Makonnen Woldemikael, the birth name of Haile Selassie I. His father is a first generation immigrant from Belize who worked as an electrician and his mother was a nail instructor who worked in the beauty business for over 30 years.[5] In an interview, he described himself as mixed with African American, Indian, Irish, Belgian, German and Chinese heritage.[6]