Nii Ayikwei Parkes was born on April 1, 1974 to Ghanaian parents. He was educated at Ann's Preparatory, and Achimota School, and later studied at the Manchester Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom. It was while at Manchester that he emerged as a performance poet and became a familiar sight on the Manchester performance poetry scene. He also became a member of the Black Writer's Group of Commonword a Manchester based literary organisation through which he gained more exposure.