Kareem was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. From a young age Kareem was involved in the arts and sports. He grew up playing a number of sports and become an elite athlete. He attended John Abbott College's Professional Theatre Program and after completing his studies he was cast in a short film then cast in multiple theatre productions. Wanting to focus primarily on film and television he went to LA where he took some workshops then went back to Canada to apply the skills he learned.