Born in Scarborough, Ontario, in Toronto's east end, and raised by Jamaican immigrant parents. He later settled in the Oakwood-Vaughan neighbourhood of York, Ontario, in Toronto's west end. Harrow started rapping at the age of eight and was winning competitions by the time he was 12. Also at the age of 12, he performed live and on stage for the first time, with Nelson Mandela in attendance during Mandela's first visit to Toronto. By 1993, he decided to change his alias "KoolAid", and went by the moniker "Kardinal Offishall" after being inspired by the great 17th century French politician Cardinal Richelieu.
