Afroman was born and raised in Palmdale, California. He began rapping in the eighth grade, and in his church he played drums and guitar. After moving to Palmdale, he started to play High division football for his High school. He was a running back, and had major scouts from around the NFL watching him in amazement. His football carrer ended horribly when he was hit from behind and broke and tore almost every muscle in his shoulder. He was not able to play football again, and then started to pick up rap with his friends. For a short time, he worked as a baggage handler at an airport.

In 1999, he released his first album, Sell Your Dope; he later relocated to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, where he met drummer Jody Stallone, keyboardist/bassist Daryl Havard, and producer Tim Ramenofsky (aka "Headfridge"). Ramenofsky produced and released Afroman's second album Because I Got High in 2000 on T-Bones Records; it initially was distributed primarily through concerts and the file-sharing service Napster before its title track was played on The Howard Stern Show. Afroman based the song's lyrical content on his inability to clean his room; and ran with the idea of everyday tasks being derailed by drug use. In late 2001, the song became a worldwide hit and was featured in the films Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, The Perfect Score, and Disturbia later in the 2000s. Because of the single's success, Afroman joined the lineup of Cypress Hill's fall festival Smoke Out with Deftones, Method Man, and others. Universal Records signed Afroman to a six-album deal; Universal released The Good Times in 2001, a compilation of Afroman's first two albums and some new tracks. "Because I Got High" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 2002.

Starting in 2004, Afroman released his music independently and mostly through the Internet. He recorded a comedy album that year, Jobe Bells, mocking traditional Christmas songs.