Zakhele Madida was born and raised in KwaMashu F-section in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. He went to Shayamoya Junior Primary School and later attended Nqabakazulu High School. At the age of 14 years he had his first child. Despite facing the challenges of being a teenage father, he still went on to finishing his matric. After matriculating, he went on to study at Natal Technikon (now known as Durban University of Technology) where he received a national certificate in Light Music, this is also where he formed his own record label called Mayonie Productions while completing his final year. Madida received a diploma in Jazz and Music performance after completing his studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban. He also studied a Social Entrepreneurship Programme at Gordon Institute of Business Science, University of Pretoria.