[5][6] He and his two brothers grew up in a home with a single mother; he realized his passion for music at a young age, often singing at birthday parties.

He credits his mother with pushing him to explore this early love for music and protecting him and his brothers from the pressures of gang culture and poverty.

[7] He attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School,[8] and took a music education program at the Grammy Museum at age 18, where he fell in love with Frank Sinatra, whose bellowing voice was inspiring to the teenager.

In November 2019, he released the single "Like I Want You" shortly before serving as an opening act for Snoh Aalegra on her Ugh, A Mini Tour Again of Europe and North America.

[18][19] In May 2020, "Chicago Freestyle" was released on streaming platforms, alongside Drake's mixtape, Dark Lane Demo Tapes.

[23] With a rapid increase of mainstream attention, Giveon's singles "Stuck on You" and "Like I Want You" began to enter a number of Billboards R&B charts in late 2020, with the latter later being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in December 2020.

[27][28] During the week of February 27, 2021, Giveon earned his second and third Billboard Hot 100 entries with "Heartbreak Anniversary" and "Like I Want You", entering the chart at numbers 74 and 95, respectively.

[29][30] Just a week later, he was featured alongside Daniel Caesar on Justin Bieber's hit single "Peaches" from his album Justice.