ABOUT Mr.701
"I wasn't born on 12/25, I was born on 8/14"
Born as Donamyn Grace, better known by his stage name Mr.701 South a.k.a Mr.701, is an American rap artist, producer, and entrepreneur from North Carolina. Donamyn Grace was born to the late Gloria Grace and 7th degree black-belt, Joseph Grace on August 14,1989, in Marlboro County, SC. His mother and best friend Gloria was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, (MS for short). She became bedridden and blind when he was only two years old. His grandparents ("G-Unit"&John) took care of his mother and raised him on Hwy 701 South in Johnston County, NC.
"A chubby little boy, getting fat off of grandma's cooking, Donamyn recalls chuckling." I lost all that weight when I played on the middle school basketball team." Donamyn had a passion for basketball and music. He even had a chance to perform at a PTA rally when he was 12, but said "he was a little insecure about his chubbiness, that he declined and performed in his classroom of 15 students, students in which he was more comfortable with being around. " The rhyme went something like this, as he recites, "Listen, listen, listen to a black individual. Don't tell me you can't see it, because this here is visual. Here I am chubby, I know you wanna hug me, but take ya time miss, please, don't tug me. Or I might get upset and start fighting like Wolverine, put my hands together and blast like Jubilee. Sometimes I go "AHH!" like the kid from Home Alone, eat a bowl of cereal and talk on the telephone. To my cousin Larry, on the contrary, I don't know what it means, so I'll look in the dictionary. Well umh, anyways, I'm tough like Levi's, together, together we bond like allies. They call me Jo Grace, but you can call me "JoJo", when I get bored I go play Nintendo." Laughing, he says, "everyone was amazed, that the chubby boy with chipped teeth could rap, and from that day forward, "I" knew I could rap as well!"
BLOW PRODUCTION
Mr.701, (Blow) also mentions his role as a producer of Blow Production. "I like all genres of music ranging from R&B, to Soft Rock. Depending on the mood I'm in, will more than likely dictate what style I will produce. I have always had a passion for playing music on the keyboard , he says, " and when I was younger, I thought it was unique and intriguing that I could insert ANY instrument onto the keyboard, and play that instrument using one interface. The only problem was, I didn't know how to read the notes on the keyboard, so I played by ear. I also joined the middle school band, playing the trombone my 6th grade year." He claims he was pretty good with that as well. "Music was my way of venting from all the stress at home", Donamyn recalls. "You can distinguish a good producer by his or her consistency. Look at producers like Dr. Dre, and Timberland, you can differentiate each producer by their unique styles. The same thing applies to me and my music. I love violins and strings, but the way I use them and speak with them is what sets me apart from other producers."
BORN LEADER
Being the only child of his mother, and the oldest child of his father's
7 children, he without a doubt, developed great keen senses at an early age. By the time he was in sixth grade, he showed leadership, a sense of urgency, and a sense of taking initiative without being told so. When he was 12, he was considered "the man" of the house by his grandmother after his grandfather passed away. Mr. 701 adds, "though I am 28 years old physically, my mind is the age of an 80 year old man, and my soul is over 2,014 years old. I'm so Tri-Polar."
At age 13, Donamyn created an organization called DcS701, ( 701Deep country Soldiers) with his partners in crime ( pictured below). "A group of teen-agers in the 90's, who represented 701 everywhere they went, and received respect state wide, that is how we got our credibility." He also states, "You can't mention Johnston County without mentioning 701, it is almost automatic. "I'm an 80's baby, 90's prince, and the millennium King. My entire aura, persona, and swag is the 90's."-Mr.701
"A chubby little boy, getting fat off of grandma's cooking, Donamyn recalls chuckling." I lost all that weight when I played on the middle school basketball team." Donamyn had a passion for basketball and music. He even had a chance to perform at a PTA rally when he was 12, but said "he was a little insecure about his chubbiness, that he declined and performed in his classroom of 15 students, students in which he was more comfortable with being around. " The rhyme went something like this, as he recites, "Listen, listen, listen to a black individual. Don't tell me you can't see it, because this here is visual. Here I am chubby, I know you wanna hug me, but take ya time miss, please, don't tug me. Or I might get upset and start fighting like Wolverine, put my hands together and blast like Jubilee. Sometimes I go "AHH!" like the kid from Home Alone, eat a bowl of cereal and talk on the telephone. To my cousin Larry, on the contrary, I don't know what it means, so I'll look in the dictionary. Well umh, anyways, I'm tough like Levi's, together, together we bond like allies. They call me Jo Grace, but you can call me "JoJo", when I get bored I go play Nintendo." Laughing, he says, "everyone was amazed, that the chubby boy with chipped teeth could rap, and from that day forward, "I" knew I could rap as well!"
BLOW PRODUCTION
Mr.701, (Blow) also mentions his role as a producer of Blow Production. "I like all genres of music ranging from R&B, to Soft Rock. Depending on the mood I'm in, will more than likely dictate what style I will produce. I have always had a passion for playing music on the keyboard , he says, " and when I was younger, I thought it was unique and intriguing that I could insert ANY instrument onto the keyboard, and play that instrument using one interface. The only problem was, I didn't know how to read the notes on the keyboard, so I played by ear. I also joined the middle school band, playing the trombone my 6th grade year." He claims he was pretty good with that as well. "Music was my way of venting from all the stress at home", Donamyn recalls. "You can distinguish a good producer by his or her consistency. Look at producers like Dr. Dre, and Timberland, you can differentiate each producer by their unique styles. The same thing applies to me and my music. I love violins and strings, but the way I use them and speak with them is what sets me apart from other producers."
BORN LEADER
Being the only child of his mother, and the oldest child of his father's
7 children, he without a doubt, developed great keen senses at an early age. By the time he was in sixth grade, he showed leadership, a sense of urgency, and a sense of taking initiative without being told so. When he was 12, he was considered "the man" of the house by his grandmother after his grandfather passed away. Mr. 701 adds, "though I am 28 years old physically, my mind is the age of an 80 year old man, and my soul is over 2,014 years old. I'm so Tri-Polar."
At age 13, Donamyn created an organization called DcS701, ( 701Deep country Soldiers) with his partners in crime ( pictured below). "A group of teen-agers in the 90's, who represented 701 everywhere they went, and received respect state wide, that is how we got our credibility." He also states, "You can't mention Johnston County without mentioning 701, it is almost automatic. "I'm an 80's baby, 90's prince, and the millennium King. My entire aura, persona, and swag is the 90's."-Mr.701
DcS701 1st generation(1999)
from Left to right
( Mr.701, Big, and Mouse)