Kodak Black was born Dieuson Octave on June 11, 1997 in Pompano Beach, Florida, where he was also raised. His parents were migrants from Haiti. Kodak Black was raised by his mother in Golden Acres, a public housing project in Pompano Beach.

Kodak Black started rapping in elementary school and began to go to a local trap house after school to record music. He spent his youth reading thesauruses and dictionaries to further his vocabulary. Kodak Black frequently participated in brawls and breaking and entering with his friends. Kodak Black was expelled from school in the fifth grade for fighting and was arrested for auto theft while in middle-school. About his upbringing, he said that he was given two options: sell drugs with a gun on his hip or rap.

From the age of six, Kodak Black used the nickname Black. He also used the nickname Lil' Black. When he joined Instagram he chose the username 'Kodak Black', ...'cause you know Kodak, that's pictures and all that. This later became his stage name when he started to rap and a name favored by his fans.