Knight attended Woodfield Infants and Junior School and Highfields School In Wolverhampton. Knight was born of Jamaican parents, and she grew up in a strict Pentecostal household where church attendance was commonplace. It is here where she began her singing career: "the first time I heard music would have been in church. My mum was often called upon: 'Come on sister Dolores. Lead us in song!' Singing was the most natural thing in the world. I thought, doesn't everybody's mum lead the congregation at church in song?" Knight continued singing in her local church throughout her childhood, and her musical education was continued at home where she was often exposed to gospel music. Due to her parents' religious beliefs, secular music was largely frowned upon but artists such as Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin played a big part in her childhood.

Knight began writing her own songs – with varying degrees of success – at the age of thirteen. It was not until she turned seventeen, th