section_path: Early life and career beginnings
section_name: Early life and career beginnings
paragraph_text: Early life and career beginnings
  
  Levin was born in Grand Prairie, Texas, and raised in Reston, Virginia, to Sandra and Andrew Levin and has an older brother. He is Jewish. He began producing hip-hop instrumentals in his bedroom and recording his own vocals on top of them. His first serious exposure to music came in 1994, when he was six years old with Nas ' " The World Is Yours " and All-4-One 's " I Swear " on cassette tapes, which influenced his early productions. After early experiments with beat making and recording himself on his boombox, Blanco's rapping earned the attention of The Source magazine and executives at Columbia Records.
  
  His stage name came from the similarly named fictional character (played by John Leguizamo) in the 1993 film Carlito's Way, and was a reference to him being a white rapper.
  
  He attended Camp Airy for many years of his childhood in Thurmont, Maryland, where he would routinely perform and host a radio show under the name "Ebba Ebba". Blanco eventually secured an apprenticeship with producer Disco D after multiple trips to New York City from his home in Virginia to meet with labels and producers.
  
  Levin was born in Grand Prairie, Texas, and raised in Reston, Virginia, to Sandra and Andrew Levin and has an older brother. He is Jewish. He began producing hip-hop instrumentals in his bedroom and recording his own vocals on top of them. His first serious exposure to music came in 1994, when he was six years old with Nas ' " The World Is Yours " and All-4-One 's " I Swear " on cassette tapes, which influenced his early productions. After early experiments with beat making and recording himself on his boombox, Blanco's rapping earned the attention of The Source magazine and executives at Columbia Records.
  
  His stage name came from the similarly named fictional character (played by John Leguizamo) in the 1993 film Carlito's Way, and was a reference to him being a white rapper.
  
  He attended Camp Airy for many years of his childhood in Thurmont, Maryland, where he would routinely perform and host a radio show under the name "Ebba Ebba". Blanco eventually secured an apprenticeship with producer Disco D after multiple trips to New York City from his home in Virginia to meet with labels and producers.