Moved with his family to New Orleans when he was 5
Nicknamed Lonny as a child in honor of his mother's father, whose name was Lionel
Left New Orleans for L
A
in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina
Prior to the storm, he was preparing to lay down tracks he'd written in a local recording studio
After the storm, however, the studio suffered water damage and was looted, making recording impossible
Supported himself in L
A
by working at Subway, Kinko's and AT&T
He even worked as an Allstate claims processor for a time
Eventually signed a songwriting deal that led to him contributing to songs recorded by Justin Bieber ("Bigger"), John Legend ("Quickly") and Brandy ("1st and Love")
Signed by Def Jam in 2009, though not much came of the deal until after his 2011 mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra turned heads—including those of Beyoncé, Jay Z and Kanye West, who asked him to work with them