Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in the Marcy Houses (same as Jay-Z) in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Cox grew up in a single-parent home because his father ran out soon after his birth. He was the oldest of his mother's children. When he was ten years old, Cox met Shawn Carter, Carter would quickly become a big influence in his life as a big brother and a father-type figure. During this time, he also would come into contact with future rap stars The Notorious B.I.G., Fabolous, and Lil Kim among other Brooklyn stars. At the age of fifteen, Malik was forced to move out on his own, he would still continue to go to school in various high schools across the New York metropolitan area. A few months later, he would drop out of high school to sell drugs with Carter. This would turn into a rap career