Chanel was born in Los Angeles. While growing up, she lived part of the year in North Hollywood with her mother and in New York City with her father, a DJ in New York City. She began listening to rap music at eleven years old and began rapping at 14; she says "How Do U Want It" by Tupac Shakur is the song which inspired her to start rapping. Chanel attended Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles for two years before homeschooling until graduation.