Koromah was born in Lewisham, London in 1995. His parents had moved from Sierra Leone to avoid its civil war. Raised in Peckham, Koromah's family then moved to East Ham in the borough of Newham. It was here that Koromah attended Langdon School: the same school as Kano attended. He became known as Maxsta after telling people his name was Maxwell to avoid being called Ian. While at school Koromah became heavily interested in music, taking lessons in the guitar, piano and cello.