One would be hard pressed to find an artist who is as talented in both the rap and vocal spaces than Christon Gray. The artist has had many triumphs but has never shied away from talking about many of his personal struggles, like his recent painful divorce and various additions. 

Now things are looking up for him. He has re-signed with Fo Yo Soul, recently became engaged, found renewed faith and trust in Christ and is dropping his fourth studio album, Clear the Heir. He gives a thorough and very informative interview below.

Christon, you re-signed with Fo Yo Soul/Essential Sounds. How did this happen and what doors has this opened for you?

I re-signed in November of 2017, kept it quiet and got to work. Leaving was hard and coming back was just one of those things. We really had to work through the better half of last year to talk through the changes that needed to happen. They happened! RCA moved to Nashville and a brand new team of people came on board. We talked to the label and worked through the contract changes. However, it was less about what was on paper and more about what was happening in real life.  The resigning was the right thing to do. We were trying to get another album and we didn’t want to forsake everything we were standing up for. 

It was also a heavy transition for me personally. Prior to me re-signing, I was in an unhealthy situation and I could not stay signed to the label. None of this is a knock against [label founder], Kirk Franklin. He and I stayed cool through it all. He’s a legend and I actually didn’t want to leave the label the first time. However, it was just too much. So coming back and getting to work was a priority.

I know you have been through some heavy personal transition. You seem to have a great chemistry with Chris Shaban aka Shabby of Toms Drawer. You two work closely together. Tell us about the chemistry that the two of you have.

Shabby and I have been working together for four years now. He used to be co-owner of Collision Records, my previous record label. I went through a lot during the process of leaving Collision and much of it was difficult. Shabby was on one end of that coin, trying to keep me on the label. Ultimately, we connected. He saw exactly where I was and what I was going through.

Shabby is an extremely talented, creative businessman. He's got mass connections in business, great writing abilities, and a huge marketing mind. This dude is an absolute genius. He co-founded The Overflow which is the only Christian streaming magazine out there. It has placements in Forbes Magazine and Wall Street Journal. I found someone with the same grind, hustle and, more importantly, the same heart. I don’t think anyone working in this business is as passionate about Jesus, without the ego, like him. 

There’s a lot of egos in this industry. We are supposed to represent Him first and foremost. I do NOT believe that God is anti-business, but I think He’s anti-ego. 

“Stop Me” was a colossal hit for you. We heard it on ESPN, commercials and movie trailers. Did you see it coming? Explain this phenomenon that no one could have predicted.

There was a little hype around me signing with Kirk. We dropped a couple of things like “Connor McDees” featuring my brother
Taelor (Gray) and Skyzoo. Then it was a little dark for a while until The Glory Album showed up. We didn't have this huge setup that would have made for it to be successful. I saw the single's success coming when we were writing it, but I did not see it coming in the way it was being treated. Then low and behold, Darren Haynes, anchor of WUSA9 of Washington D.C. (who previously worked for ESPN), called me up after trying to reach me for a long time. He was trying to put my music on ESPN, but could not get a hold of me. So he reached me through an old publicist and we talked for an hour. Then he gives “Stop Me” to the program director of ESPN and the song shows up (with two others) during the month of March. I was the artist of the month for them and it just took off. Honda picked it up and it was GONE! To go from my living room to it not getting marketed, to it going to ESPN, the ESPY Awards, Honda, Fox Network, movie placements, and Madden ‘19? it just kept going. No, I didn’t see it coming; GOD DID!

Tell us about the direction of Clear The Heir.

We went with more hip-hop on The Glory Album. I would say that Clear The Heir is 50/50 in terms of singing and rapping. It may lean a little more to the R&B side. I think it’s my best album. I think it encompasses Christon Gray as the entire person and not just highlighting different seasons in his life. It starts off with validation from my dad talking to me about what it is for me to struggle with an addiction. I talk about my fiance, Shayna; I talk about how she ended up meeting me in a dying marriage. This was a marriage that I didn’t want to let go of. I dedicated “Ride to Wave” to her. I don’t think men showcase enough what women go through and the difficulty they experience because of what we sometimes put them through. “Together Forever” is tying up the end of an era. It is an apology to all whom I’ve disappointed and let them (and us) know that it’s gonna be okay. We go through so many let downs in life. All of those songs shift to a much more relaxed place musically. In this album, you are not having to wonder what’s next. You’re like “Oh my gosh, this is my life.” I think this album represents people and the Christian journey more than anything I’ve ever heard before.

Tell us more about your fiance´, Shayna.

My life has really transitioned in these past two and a half years. Through God and therapy, I have been able to cope with hurts from the divorce. I have healed from past hurts dealing with the industry. I attribute a lot to this relationship with Shayna that God has allowed me to have. She is a wonderful woman!

We cannot forget about your musical chemistry with your brother, Taelor.

We have a chemistry that dates back when I was 11, and I am 32 now. We grew up learning how to express our personalities together, and how to talk about Jesus through music. As we got older and continued to creatively share Him, we started expressing our relationships with our family, each other and this world. I started talking about what I was struggling with and Taelor would hide his struggles. He was much more overt with his message of Christ because he didn’t want to talk about his personal issues in his rhymes. Fast forward to 2017. When we created the Jacob and Judas album, we created space for us both to express what we go through. Taelor, being a pastor, could do so and I had his back. I was going through a divorce and he had my back. He has always had my back, no matter what part of the spectrum we were on. That’s what you hear in the chemistry.