Born into a New Jersey-based family of DJs, Deshawn Paynes was encouraged at a young age to practice the family craft. After developing innovative uses of his battery-powered turntable and picking up musical influences from constant listening to the radio and digging through record bins, the young DJ donned the moniker Tameil. Realizing that he could DJ for a living, Tameil began spreading his blend of East Coast hip-hop and Baltimore club in the late 90s and opened up his own label, Anthrax Records, in 2001.
