rutling was born in brooklyn, new york, and is of trinidadian descent. growing up in the bamaz projects, a heavily crime-ridden area in east new york, brooklyn, he was an only child raised by both his parents. he was an athlete in high school as a teenager, and attended thomas jefferson high school, graduating in 2004. he was a member of the football team and played safety and wide receiver in division ii. his first son was born when he was sixteen years old, forcing him to quit sports in order to focus on raising his son. it was not until his father sent him a hip hop beat that he began to explore his rapping skills. he decided to pursue a life in music when he was 21. at the beginning of his career, he wrote over 100 songs which were never released, but drastically helped him improve his writing and delivery.