Webbie's childhood was particularly hard for he was raised in a tough part of Baton Rouge, Lousiana. He was born Webster Gradney, Jr. on September 6, 1985 and reared in Rough Sherwood where its crime rate was ranked the second highest in the nation. "It's real gutta," he recalled. "But it's nice if you mind your own business. When I'm gone for too long, I be missin' it. That's where I'm from, that's home." When he moved to Glen Oaks few years later, it was not much a change for the area was also still considered 'harsh' for young kids. Gradney however, was keen on developing his artistic side that is by starting to rap at the age of five. He had a cousin from California who taught him how and introduced him to many "gangsta" rappers who had set a name out there like Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, Eazy E, UGK and many more. Apt to his life condition, Gradney relates his personal issues being brought up in the tough part of the world to his music. Unfortunately his mother Jocelyn who brought the music influence to him at the first place gave up her life to cancer when he was only 8 years old. He would later recalled that his mother liked to dance to her favorite tunes and somehow introduced him to the kind of life with music. Gradney moved on with his life, juggling his time between rapping and school.