Mr. Exclusive (Clinton, NC) – “The Business” ft. Mic Melta (Prod by. Young D)

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Antonio (Mr. Exclusive) Faison was born and raised in Clinton, North Carolina where he was first introduced to hip hop by his oldest brother. Growing up he would listen to artist such as Eric B. and Rakim, Special Ed, Slick Rick, and a host of other artist. Influenced also by his oldest brother he would learn to play the drums and join the band in middle school. It was then that he learned how to read and understand music on paper as well as be creative and play by ear. Listening to so much music, he also began to recite other artist lyrics after only hearing the song only once. That would lead to him putting together his own lyrics to instrumental that he may hear on radio or mixtapes. Not knowing anything about a studio or recording his first recording came from an extended run out of a beat from Rakwon’s purple tape, a boom box, and a handheld tape recorder. Even with lacking studio sound quality, friends would listen to and vibe to what he had done. During his senior year in high school, he and a group of friends had started something without knowing exactly what they had started. One day, one of his friends began to mimic the beat of DMX’s Ruff Ryders and he began to freestyle. While it started out as just something to do during a break between classes, it also not only drew more competition in the freestyle cypher but it began to draw a larger crowd every day. It happened so much to the point that he and another friend were brought into the principal’s office because according to the principal they had created a distraction with what he would call the noise and large crowd. They were not made to stop but only to switch locations within the school property.

In the fall of 2000, he would attend Fayetteville State University where he would not only make some interesting friends but also learn more about his musical talent. As he began to venture the college world and lifestyle, he would meet a host of people who were just as much into music as he was. They would sometimes meet in dorms or in random places on campus for cyphers and battles. It was at this time that he learned that he had a lot of work to do if he wanted to be successful at being an artist. In the two years he would spend at Fayetteville State, it seemed to him as if things were not going to progress and he would soon fall out of interest with school all together. Taking his experience back home with him, he would struggle to find work while also indulging in a small part of the drug game. He would continue to freestyle at local parties as well as DJ with one of his brothers at local events. Not seeing much opportunity in his community for regular employment or getting noticed in the music business, he then took an offer from his girlfriend and now wife to move to Atlanta with her and her family. Not even second guessing it, he would pack up and begin his journey to the ATL.

In 2003, he would arrive in Atlanta at a time that seemed perfect because Atlanta was beginning to blossom in its own as one of the most successful places for a music artist to be. Not knowing all the work it would take to achieve his goals he would link up with people who it would seem they already had the ball rolling in the industry. He winded up linking up with an artist by the name of Baby Boy from a group called the Southern Playaz who once had a hit single in the south, titled “Dickey Ride”. The artist took Mr. Exclusive under his wing after hearing him freestyle after a late night studio session in Augusta. While the artist was trying to make a comeback in his career, he featured Mr. Exclusive on a single titled “Tell A Girl”. Thinking that this was going to be it, Mr. Exclusive, then known as Kamillion, began to fund his own studio sessions trying to create a demo with hopes to be discovered. The single would never make the radio and a lot of promises were unkept but that did not stop Mr. Exclusive from trying to get into the industry. He would meet people affiliated in the industry in some type of way trying to get in the door. With music taking a dramatic turn in terms of what he was used to as well as having limited funds, his dream would seem once again too far off. In 2006 with not a lot of options left and having a family to provide for, he made the choice to join the United States Air Force. In his absence from Atlanta and the experiences he would encounter, it would open his mind to use everything that he had learned from the bad experiences in music and life to turn them positive. Returning back to Atlanta in 2008, it would take him some time to do exactly what he wanted to do. Jumping back in the mix of the club scene and seeing the city change with the new music culture so dramatically, he would begin to strictly do beat production while seldom writing.

It was a phone call from an old school friend that would put him back in the studio recording again when he was asked to be featured on one his tracks simply based off of what Mr. Exclusive had done in his school years freestyling. Back at it again, this time he began to put his focus on what the industry was looking for while still sounding like himself and not everyone else. This would lead to the birth of his label, Doing It Legendary Music Group. While working on his first mixtape titled “Destroy And Rebuild”, he submitted his signature song titled “So Exclusive” to be on a Coast 2 Coast mixtape and was given a slot on an Indie top 50 mixtape. With 3 solo mixtapes available online now, he is currently working on his first album with hopes of soon getting a deal to help him build not only his brand but his company as well.

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