Born in Boston, Massachusetts, where he spent his childhood and teenage years, Carroll moved to New York City in the mid-1990s, where he adopted the moniker of Slaine and started to rap and record hip-hop.

In the early 2000s, Carroll became a growing figure in the Boston hip-hop scene, releasing several mixtapes, and the LP Stereotypez (2007) with his group Special Teamz.

Later, A Brand You Can Trust (2009) was released, by the rap supergroup La Coka Nostra, where Carroll is joined by Ill Bill, and House of Pain.

Carroll continued acting in motion pictures with roles in Killing Them Softly (2012), Girl House (2014), Central Intelligence (2016), Wheelman (2017), etc.

[1] Eventually while recording a demo in the studio of the rap group Lordz of Brooklyn, Carroll said that member Kaves nicknamed him Slaine after an Irish comic book character.

They decided to make a group, however O'Connor felt that there was a void and asked experienced rapper William Braunstein (Ill Bill) to join.

"[8] Originally Carroll was sought after for the role of Cheese, but Affleck changed his mind and wanted him for the bigger part of the gangster Bubba Rogowski.

Carroll explained "I thought I wasn't going to get (the role) because they took so long to get back to me, but it turns out Ben was just convincing the studio to take a chance on me despite my lack of acting experience.

[13] Andrew Kameka of HipHopDX wrote that "the album is a mostly solid effort and exactly what someone would expect from a supergroup of like-minded members known for high-energy music".

[15] Steve Juon of RapReviews gave it a seven out of ten saying "there's definitely brutal beauty in the worlds that have collided on La Coka Nostra's "A Brand You Can Trust"".

[19] For their performances they won Best ensemble cast at the 2010 National Board of Review,[20] and Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards.

[30] Luke Gibson of HipHopDX gave it four out of five stars, praised it to be Carroll best lyrical effort to date, and said ''a national album that portrays him as more than just Boston’s boy, but a voice that resonates with struggle, perseverance and the tender balance between good and evil everywhere''.

[citation needed] Adam Fleischer of XXL magazine noted that "La Coka Nostra remain decidedly true to their core with their new album" and "that they are indeed masters of the dark arts".

[38] Nathan G. O'Brien of Scene Point Blank gave it four out five star and said "with Master of the Dark Arts La Coka Nostra’s pluperfect union of bombastic boom-bap, record scratching, and realism-based hardcore rhyming".

[41] Where all the songs have featured guest from the Boston hip hop local scenes, including the likes of Esoteric, Ed O.G., Millyz, etc.

[48][49][50] Mike Wilson of Bloody Disgusting said "Slaine hits the right notes when it comes to expressions and emotions, while evoking a bit of sympathy for the sob".

[51] Scott Hallam of Dread Central praised Carroll "one of the true strengths of the film is Slaine’s portrayal of the killer, Loverboy".

[citation needed] Steve Juon of RapReviews gave eight point five out of ten and wrote "for a blissful 45 minutes it's an uncut dose of that nostalgia straight through the ear canals to the dopamine centers of my brain".

[54] Also that year, Carroll acted in Rawson Marshall Thurber's Central Intelligence,[55] John Swab's Let Me Make You a Martyr,[56] and Dead Draw.

[67] In 2022, in addition to his music and acting career, Carroll opened up Charles River Recovery with a group of professionals whose mission is to give treatment to people who suffer from addiction.

Carroll found sobriety in March 2014 after a long battle with alcoholism and addiction and became increasingly involved in helping others after losing his best friend to an overdose.