Wolde-Mariam grew up in Grefsen, Norway with his mother, moving many times, living in Røyken, Grønland, Grünerløkka, and Bekkelaget.

[2][3] Tshawe Baqwa (born January 6, 1980, in Saarbrücken, West Germany) is a South African-German-Norwegian rapper and TV presenter.

[4] In 1994, Baqwa moved to South Africa with his parents when he was 14 years old, in the wake of the country's first democratic general election, eventually going back to Norway for a musical career.

Madcon released their first single, "God Forgive Me", in 2000 for Virgin Records, but their first commercial breakthrough came with the hit single "Barcelona" in 2002, which they issued with long-time collaborators Paperboys on the "Bonnier Amigo" record label, a division of Cosmos Music Group, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden.

[6] In 2012, Madcon was referred to as "moccha men" during the ceremony of Spellemannsprisen, a Norwegian award for musicians; the comment was apparently made as an inoffensive joke, but was perceived as racist at some level.

Madcon's cover of the song "Beggin'" was also used in the movies Step Up 3, Street Dance 3D, Just Go With It, and the theatrical trailer for Bad Teacher.

It was sung by Philip Phillips on American Idol in 2012 and by Bill Downs and Max Milner in the battle rounds of The Voice UK series 1.

[8][9] In 2021, Madcon appeared on the Norwegian television series Exit during the 7th episode of the second season, portraying a musical duo invited to play at an open-air party.