 Alonzo Mario Stevenson was born in Los Angeles, California, son of William "Mickey" Stevenson, Motown singer/songwriter/producer and the label's first A&R executive, and Melanie Burke, a background singer for Chaka Khan.Stevenson, also the grandson of soul music pioneer Solomon Burke, grew up with his mother in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and North Carolina, sometimes staying in shelters because they had no money.A friend of Stevenson's in Philadelphia nicknamed him "Novel" because he always carried a notebook.