I was born on October 25, 1985 in Austin, Texas, the only child of Jackie and Carleton Harris. Since my father was in the U.S. army, I spent my childhood on military bases in Germany, new York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada. As a teenager, I moved to Atlanta with my family. There, together with her two friends, she created a group called Hearsay. The band recorded a demo, but broke up after a while due to disagreements between the members. After the band broke up, I started writing songs for other artists. My first success came with the song "Got Me Waiting" for R&B singer Fantasia Barrino's debut album Free Yourself. This was when I met the producer Jazze Pha. We recorded four demos with him: "1, 2 Step", "Thug Style", "Pick Up the Phone"and " Lookin' at You". These songs were later included on my debut album, which was released two years later. "1, 2 Step" was released as the second single from the album and became a hit.