WS Chronicle

By Busta Brown

He was in one of the most successful rap groups to come out of North Carolina. They had money and fame. So, what caused this High Point native to leave such a promising musical career, to become who some people call one of the most polarizing yet successful Christian figures in the music business and on the Internet? 

During high school, he joined a local rap group called 336 Boyz. The group’s 2010 anthem Mickey D’s went viral and put them on the map nationally. 336 Boyz were invited on national tours with some of the biggest names in the rap game. 

He’s going to take us on his journey in the music industry that led him to an unwavering faith in God.

But first, who is Bryson Gray?

I was born and raised in High Point, North Carolina. I’ve been rapping since I was born. I’m not saying that as a joke. Anybody can ask my parents or go to my elementary school. I won Rapper of the Year in fifth grade at my elementary school. I’ve always been rapping. I used to fight a lot and I got suspended from school for having an attitude problem. Then in high school, I realized that I had to change that attitude problem and always keep a cool head and self-control. All of that was preparing me for my walk and journey with Christ. God hand-picked my movements to make sure my career was going to happen.

Before your career took off, what role did your parents play in your confidence and success?

The faith they had in my talent, that was big! Having both parents in the home, I feel like that does something good for the mental state of a child. It should be commonplace because this world is getting crazier and crazier. So, just the faith they had in their child helped me become the man I am today. 

You played football in high school as well as being part of 336 Boyz. How was making music different?

I look at music like breathing. I don’t even know how to explain it, but it’s like I can’t separate myself from music. So, when people say what does music do for me? That’s like asking what eating and drinking water does for me, you know what I’m saying? I don’t think there’s any such thing as Bryson Gray without music. When I played football, they wrote about me in a few newspapers. But even then, my focus was music. 

Tell us about your career with 336 Boyz.

My parents were the managers, and they were taking out loans to invest in the rap group. My dad invested in a tour van to take us to our shows. They lost all that money because we weren’t making money yet. So, the faith that they had in me played a huge role in my faith in God as well.

So, what caused you to leave such a promising rap career to become what some people call one of the most polarizing Christian figures on the Internet?

We would turn down offers for $20,000 because we were making more than $6,000 in one month, so we could make over $20k in four months and not belong to anybody. But the rest of the group wasn’t on the same page. We had legendary moments performed at every HBCU campus and sold tons of records. Not a lot of local artists can say they did what we did. I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet, but the writing was on the wall. But at this point, it was over. Everybody decided to go their own separate ways, and that’s pretty much how the group ended. 

Why did you decide on a career in Gospel music?

I started getting deeper into my faith. It’s not just saying what I believe in, it’s acting on what I believe in. What came with that for me personally, was also my political beliefs, because I feel, biblically, my Bible has to be the driving force for everything. So, I started going a different way politically, because of my faith, and that seemed to be very controversial. So, then I became very, very popular in the political realm and the right-wing space. And you know, everybody knows I was repping Jesus the whole time, but I was also supporting Donald Trump, who you’re not supposed to support in the Black community.

Tell us about your political motivation and why you were supporting Trump.

I called it right wing music. but it was all like the driving force with Jesus. If you listen to any of my political songs, I mentioned Jesus. I realized a key thing. These people ain’t Christian either. They just do a better job of acting like they’re Christians. And it’s easy to act like you’re Christian when one side of politics is clearly against Christian values. So, all you gotta do is slightly echo Christian values, and you can trick Christians. But as soon as you show me that you’re actively going against God and his word, then you’re my enemy, too.

I started criticizing Trump from a biblical perspective, the same way I criticized Joe Biden and the same way I criticized Obama and Harris. But for some reason, when I started criticizing Trump in the same light, all the people that claimed they were my fans started turning against me.

Tell me about the concert that was canceled where the former president was to speak.

They said because I criticized Trump, I don’t deserve it. There was so much pressure on the event organizers that they had to let me go. And they said I can keep the money. That’s how crazy things are. I started criticizing Trump because of the Bible. I wasn’t calling him racist or things like that. I’m just not supporting any politicians. I don’t need politicians to rap about Jesus. People need to repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand. 

Are you afraid of getting blackballed or canceled?

It’s already happened. Spotify banned a few of my songs. Apple Music did as well. So, I’ve already been blackballed. I’ve already been canceled. There’s not much that somebody can do to me that hasn’t already been done by everybody. The Bible literally warns you of this. Jesus says ‘for my name, you will be hated.’ In Ephesians, the Bible says to ‘expose wickedness’; do not partake in wickedness, but instead expose. It is what Paul said specifically. I already know what type of hate and lies are gonna come with that, because I’ve already experienced it. I invite that because I love the opportunity to prove to the world that I picked God first. Anytime somebody gives me the opportunity, I get more excited. Anybody that claims anybody with influence that claims Jesus should be more accountable for what they say and do.

If the music and entertainment industry needs to change, what role should Christian artists play?

Christian artists need to stop being afraid to expose wickedness. I’m not saying the soft Christian rap isn’t meaningful. It is. Sometimes you just want to hear a worship song about how you love Jesus. Everything ain’t gotta be so biblical, but I think 99% of Christian music is that I love Jesus. Jesus loves me. Jesus-loves-everybody music. We also need to warn the wicked, and repent music, which is what I do. We need more Christian artists that’s not afraid to do that, especially the ones with the big names. And then we’ll be in a much better position.

Tell us about your new projects.

Right now, I’m doing a thing called the 777 Project – seven songs, seven genres. God created the earth in six days. The seventh was for Him to rest, and that rest was needed for completion. Last Friday I dropped reggae. You know a lot of people were shocked about that. It’s a real reggae song, not rap infused genre stuff. So, for the next seven weeks, that’s what I’m doing, so just stay tuned. 

What scripture gives you inspiration to keep moving forward?

The scripture I say at the end of every live stream is Matthew 6:33: Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all his righteousness, and everything will be added to you. That’s such a beautiful scripture, because God is telling you as long as you were following in his ways, He got you. There’s nothing to stress about. So, the reason I’m typically always happy is because there’s nothing I don’t believe, as long as I’m walking in the ways of God. He got me and that’s how I go through my life

My phenomenal Person of the Week is Bryson Gray. For more info, contact him at BrysonGray@BrysonGray.com or IG @BrysonCreates.