A Sunset District native, Berner attended Galileo High before dropping out. His mother was an office worker and his father was a chef at a Mexican restaurant on Fillmore Street. When Berner was 13, the family moved to Arizona, where his father planned to open a restaurant.

During high school, Berner began battle rapping and in 2006 he released his first mixtape, Dirty Sneakers. Berner previously worked as a bartender and later as budtender.

Berner ran a cannabis club from age 18 to 25; after meeting Wiz Khalifa, the latter heard Berner’s release with Equipto, and signed him under the Taylor Gang. Berner has two lifestyle clothing lines, FreshKo and Cookies.

Berner opened a clothing and lifestyle store in San Francisco called “Cookies”, selling items such as lunch bags, duffle bags and “smell proof” backpacks. He is associated with the “Cookie Family” of marijuana geneticists, who produce strains common in California, such as “Girl Scout Cookies” and “Sunset Sherbet”

Berner ran into The Jacka, and after praising his music, he handed Jacka some weed, Jacka returned the favor by giving him his number. In 2008 they recorded Drought Season together.

Two years later, Berner received a call from Mistah F.A.B. on behalf of Wiz Khalifa, asking if he could get some weed for him. After this experience, they became friends and Wiz started rapping about “Cookies” on stage. Soon afterward Berner convinced Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa to appear in a music video for Yoko, another single of his.