Nigel "NiyoRah" Olivacce was born on October 9, 1980 in the coastline village of Pointe Michel, Dominica. At age 4, he moved to St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, with his family, and cultivated an interest in music through listening to artists in his father's and uncle's roots reggae collections, including Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Burning Spear and Lucky Dube. By age 16, NiyoRah began chanting on the streets about the life experiences of the Savan ghetto in downtown Charlotte Amalie.