J-Hood was born in Newport, North Carolina to a single mother. They did not have much and his mother was struggling to find work. Because of this, she would move to Yonkers, New York. He attended elementary school in Yonkers and would graduate from Roosevelt High School. It would be around age 12 that he began rapping, at age 15, he got discovered by DMX. DMX would introduce him to Sheek Louch of D-Block, with whom he would immediately sign to their label.