Born Emanuel Cintron, (later becoming Gamboa), Emɐnuǝl X was born in St. Francis Hospital in Trenton, New Jersey on August 2nd, 1992 to an immigrant Costa Rican father and Puerto Rican mother. He was raised in Olney, North Philadelphia, before moving to Costa Rica; a country in Central America where his patriarchal lineage derives from. The Latin upbringing and culture groomed Emɐnuǝl X to always be surrounded by music, developing his love for sound. However, after suffering 3 armed robberies, he and his family returned to the United States. They bounced from North Philadelphia, to Trenton, and once more to Philadelphia to finally settle in Bucks County. Emɐnuǝl X credits his struggle since youth and seeing the adversity his mother has faced all her life, as well as his autistic younger brother’s own struggle, to fuel him to success. His music is his therapy, and he strives to give hope to the hopeless by constantly putting a message into everything he does: Believe in yourself, and stop at nothing for your ambitions.