Born and raised in Downey, California, near Los Angeles, Perez began his career at a young age when he appeared in television advertisements for companies such as Nike, McDonald's, and Skechers.

He was included in two Gym Class Heroes music videos, including "Shoot Down the Stars" (as a young school child), and "Cupid's Chokehold" (as Cupid Boy). Perez rose to fame as a member of the boy band Mindless Behavior, in which he remained from 2008 until the group's disbandment in 2017