709. Faith, Politics, and Music: Bryson Gray's Call to Action for Christians

[00:00:00] The story is the journey, the testimonies, it's the spiritual detox. Yeah, we in for a treat today y'all shout out to everybody that like a little controversy. I promise you, uh, you know, I got Mr. somebody had to say it on with me today.

[00:00:14] Uh, he has been very vocal about, uh, listen everything. I don't mean you think it's nothing topic wise. He has not touched from, uh, listen. I can't even name nothing. Listen, he's going to talk about it.

[00:00:26] He's going to put some Bible on it and he don't care what people say about it. You know, he's going to say listen, uh, you know, and go into Bible and uh, that's what it is.

[00:00:34] The super talented demand himself for ice and grace joining us. What's going on, bro? What's up, man? They can sell much for having me on. For show man, for show man, um, you've been moving man. Yeah, I promise you, uh, nothing's really slow to you down, man.

[00:00:49] One thing I like about you, man, uh, again, like I say, I do know, uh, we have, I think we got nice amount of people in our little small little sub-genre that are, you know,

[00:00:59] bring us some controversial topics. But you have never shot away from the ones that hit home. Let's be very clear. Um, we know that there are some at home, especially if you have kids,

[00:01:08] you're married, you know, when you talk about, you know, economics and trying to get jobs in corporate America like you have always touched faces with all these topics. Where is that boat is come from? Where did that start for you to where you wanted to start?

[00:01:22] Now, only putting your artistry, but really, again, talk about these topics that maybe a lot of people are not talking about. Um, even when I use the May Sinclair music,

[00:01:33] I used to be the guy that, uh, for girl, did me wrong. I'm dropping a whole album about it just because, so I'm, uh, this and I've always, um, you've been up like other Bryson. Hey,

[00:01:45] you, you, you, you, you. Listen, I, I feel like, are as an expression of self. Um, and I've never had a filter ever in my life, but even when I was worldly, I've never had a filter. And I felt like God

[00:01:56] built me like that for a reason. He was just a way for me to come home. You know, I'm saying, come home, come, come, come, come home to the, you know, to the side with guys. So I've always had it.

[00:02:04] I don't know where it came from. Uh, I come from a lot of old people though. Uh, my grandmother was a black Panther. Uh, my dad is a school teacher. He's always been kind of controversial. So maybe,

[00:02:15] maybe he's just in the blood, oh. But probably got situations, man. It's like, especially with the Bible, it was something needs to be said. And I don't see anybody saying it.

[00:02:27] I figure out why they're not saying it. And uh, and then I say, well, I don't care about any of that. So I'll say it. Why not? Um, and I feel like that's the, uh, I don't know. I feel like that's the

[00:02:39] path that God hit me on. Talk a little bit more about your favorite journey, man. What's that one thing that guys kind of showed you over the years, man? And um, that you kind of maybe had

[00:02:48] to adjust from a spiritual standpoint or you know, you just, you know, you just, you know, wanted to get in your purpose and something that you maybe didn't know about yourself, the guy kind of revealed to you.

[00:02:56] Um, it was his where it was that Bible of always claimed to be Christian, just like 69 percent of this country. Um, but when you look at the culture in this country, it doesn't look too

[00:03:06] Christian. And uh, I was one of those. You know what I'm saying? I wasn't going to church every Sunday, but a lot of times my grandmother called you to the altar. She had a key to the church. I don't

[00:03:16] know how that go. But I would leave there and then go right to getting drunk with my friends. Um, and then I started reading the Bible like for myself probably like 19 or 20 years old.

[00:03:27] Um, and when you start reading it, you realize it's just, it's a very clear set of rules you have to follow. And I realized I wasn't following them. So the more read the Bible, the more

[00:03:39] I changed my life to fit the Bible versus trying to force the Bible to fit my life with this one a lot of other people do so. And the first thing I gave up was sex out of it, uh, having sex out

[00:03:47] of it, like for an occasion. Uh, I became a celibate when I was like 20, 21. Um, but I was still getting drunk. But I was very cocky when I became celibate too. I was like, I was cocky about it because you know,

[00:04:00] most men they can't say that. So you know, it was lit and then I had I had a stand where I like slowed down or reading the Bible. I thought I had to figure it out. I think as a man, if you

[00:04:11] not following them to less, you go, you know, but I was getting drunk making music about women twerking. You know, I'm saying still going through the club. I'm still listening to the bad music.

[00:04:22] So I was definitely a hypocrite, but like even in my old back in the day on social media, bro, I was crazy like going against the hard time with I go against now. But I was doing it in a

[00:04:32] hypocritical state like Matthew said one calls out. Uh, but I had to get back into the Bible, realized that, uh, realize I didn't, you know, I'm sick of my friends. I'd call them, yeah, because

[00:04:44] I was a type of person. I will call stuff out there too. But in my friend, he'd be like, a bro, I just got drunk with you. I just watched you take 20 shots. I just watched it. How can

[00:04:53] you do this? And um, that started getting to me. So I got back to that word, having got out of the sense and then more I read and when the Bible tells you not to do something, I just crossed

[00:05:02] off my list or not to do it. Um, and the last thing I gave up, I gave up, I gave up, getting drunk in um 2018, 17, some of that. And the last thing I gave up was in 2020. I stopped using

[00:05:14] a profanity and I stopped listening to secular music. Um, like period. Um, so uh, and I feel like all of that has helped me. And it just, it just makes you, you know, better in your walk and

[00:05:24] on the touring and walk. Have you had an opportunity to make some connections with some secular artists? Cause I know you've been in a lot of spaces. And I'm just wondering, you know,

[00:05:33] I hear that you, you know, you stop listening to secular music, but have any secular artists reached out to you? Maybe have some conversations, maybe ask about prayer, maybe ask about how to study their word, like have you made any of those connections or you just totally like

[00:05:48] just want to stay in the space that you're in? Oh, not I have. Uh, the rap group I was in in North Carolina is called, three three single boys. And if anybody's from the three three six

[00:05:57] area and you're millennial, you know who to do this, your boys are. Um, we were very popular while I'm from and another member of the group whose name was DJ Lute Nasty. He ended up having

[00:06:09] a platinum song with gold song, you know what I'm saying in mainstream music. Uh, and I give him that script all the time. I play with which old friends is different because everybody

[00:06:18] around me is so used to me. Like the bracing that light, just to hit about community, it's a shock factor there. There's no shock factor with my family and like my friends. Like they're

[00:06:28] so used to me doing this to them. They don't have the same effect anymore. You know what I'm saying? Gotcha. And as far as mainstream connects, uh, I worked with Kanye last year. Um,

[00:06:39] and I gave him the script. I had it, I ended up having to review Kim publicly too. So I know he doesn't like me right now, but I was going over that Bible with him the whole time I was there.

[00:06:48] I talked I gave the script as well all through the room to everybody. Ta-da all sides on the room. Uh, Chicago rap or Rugal was in the room. Um, the dude that used the right for Drake,

[00:06:58] quit Miller. He was in the room. And if anybody asked any of them, if anybody ever get a contact with them, like how was Bryson? Anybody that boy is like, religious free. That's what they're

[00:07:07] going to say. Um, so you know, I get a script for the Kanye. I feel like that's pretty, that's pretty big. Uh, but I got a lot of other connections here and there as far as the second

[00:07:16] world, but those are the two like most octagon get out of something like that. Did you think when you walk in that room? And you just, you know, we're talking about the Bible, gave them scriptures,

[00:07:25] we know whoever may be Thai or, you know, Kanye, you feel like they received it or was it more standoffish like, you know, that ain't what we hear from. Uh, it was mainly, we'll receive

[00:07:38] by Kanye himself. He was actually very impressed. Um, because he, I had a physical Bible out and he would tell me like, it's rare that he sees somebody with a physical Bible. As anybody knows

[00:07:48] me, I'm trying to study Matthew until I can become a walking Google search for Matthew. Then I'm gonna go book out the book in the Bible. But I'm realizing that it takes to

[00:07:57] take a while. I've been in Matthew consistently for like a year and I promised you every time I'll take a quiz after like chapter nine, my brains are falling off the cliff. So uh, but I was

[00:08:08] studying it there in the room with them during the studio sessions and uh, Yale was impressed. He was bragging about it to the friends that was coming up. Um, he started talking about

[00:08:16] everything in his life when he realized that I was really in that scripture because he found me from my son, Hall Makers, which I mean, I thought you should know I'm in the scripture about that

[00:08:24] song, but I guess in person it's just different. And uh, it was we ever received. We talked about repentance. I don't know what happened to him five months later. He went straight to being demonic.

[00:08:34] I don't know why I can't you know, Kevin, my finger on it because that was not the Bible. I got but a lot of the producers that were there. Hmm. We was talking about scripture.

[00:08:44] I honestly was very, it was we ever received. I mean, I don't know what they were saying when I was going, but it had to be someday. But when I was in front of them, everything seemed

[00:08:52] well received. That's good. Well, yeah, that you know, I'm glad you shared that because we need to continue to be in those spaces. So I'm glad you got that opportunity to share the gospel

[00:09:01] and in those spaces because I do argue a lot of times. Um, and let's all know I hold them accountable to as well, but they're so busy or they don't make the time to be a part of a local church or a

[00:09:12] ministry and be disciple by somebody, whoever it may be church member, elder deacon, pastor, whoever. So a lot of times, you know, I argue that yeah, a lot of their knowledge of where they should be

[00:09:24] spiritually, they're not getting because they're not understanding how to pray daily. They don't understand how to break down the text. So, you know, that's why I wanted to share that because that's very, very important. It's just how to use for listening. My nanopy product, you bought

[00:09:37] you walking in with your Bible. My nanodin, like it's a sail phone situation and Bible actually, like, no, no, who the word I am when you pull it out, read it. It's a living word.

[00:09:47] Yeah. So I mean, I, I do them. I phone a lot too. Okay. Um, but I really physical Bible a lot too. I mean, I just mixed with them. If you know where I'm at, how I fill in a moment,

[00:09:57] uh, but when I was in Tokyo, I didn't know how the thaw situation was going to work because like, I know how NDA's and stuff work. So I was like, I need that physical button. He just ended up being

[00:10:08] great because it ended up, pity me in the situation. You know, so don't get me wrong. I was going for the situation regardless. My heart's there repent. My search said, make a master straight again.

[00:10:18] I wasn't playing games like you was going to know what I was on when I was there. But the physical Bible is what ended up being uh, in my hat that said repent ended up being what's part of the

[00:10:26] conversation with uh, with ya. What track was your working on? If you can say, um, I was working on it so weird, bro, because that album he dropped was the most degenerate thing I've heard in years.

[00:10:37] Um, and they all, not all of them, but the songs I worked on that was only his last album, the Vultures album, we're all Christian before. So the problematic song.

[00:10:46] Um, wait a minute. Yes, you mean he switched up the whole vibe from when you was in the studio? Oh, listen to me. I'll tell you, bro, like, it's so crazy because you can't even understand how crazy

[00:10:58] it is unless you work with them too. Like my boy Shane, my boy Shane Casin had worked with Kanye too and me him. We were just talking last week about like how we're so disappointed. Like I can't

[00:11:06] even explain there was threats to this appointment because it's the craziest one. Eddie I've ever seen. So bro listen to me, bro. Like big forgiveness. One of the songs on his last album.

[00:11:16] My job there was explicitly told to me. My job was to make sure a hard lyrics were in line with the Bible. And he wanted me to write, you know, say contribute writing, but he said, like even if

[00:11:32] you don't contribute writing, make sure there lyrics because the three writers there were me, Rouga and Quentin Miller. The main three writers there. We're going to beg forgiveness song. I ought to let us a Christian. I could show you to, I could continue a screen out of the

[00:11:46] text message from the producer, 88 keys. He said, I love what you did with it. You hear that now is disgusted. We the song problematic that was on his Vultures album. He had a version of it when

[00:11:59] he was mumbling. And he said, if you profanely, a football friend wears when he was mumbling in the reference track, I could send you that to. He said, make sure all that is gone because he was

[00:12:08] freestyling trying to catch a flow. And he made me rewrite the whole thing but in his flow, it makes for everything wasn't lying to the Bible. The song on his, the song on berth is called worship.

[00:12:21] He tied the original title to that song. I watched that song to create him scratched. The original title was called Matthew 5 because that's what I was studying. He was so impressed.

[00:12:29] They changed the song title to Matthew 5, bro. And then he said, he got up in the middle of making that song. I think it's still called worship on it. I'm on the one with the title is that

[00:12:41] album was sold to Jenner and I couldn't even listen to them. But um, he got up and said, bro, I think about changing all the titles to the song with Bible verses. And he was asked me with

[00:12:51] Bible verses to use and all that. And then five months later, bro, let's define five months later, he came out with that voter song that was so degenerate. And uh, I'm not going loud. One of

[00:13:02] the reasons I came out of every bootcamp publicly, we were posting his wife naked was because I didn't want anything I did to be used. Like I wanted to like sabotage my relationship with him.

[00:13:14] Because I don't want to be a part of any like whatever he was got going, I didn't want to be a part of a bro. I ain't never seen nobody do that type of one 80 in my life. Um, and uh, when I came

[00:13:22] out of gas on the team, a lot of people around them let me know they, you know what I'm saying? He didn't like it. Um, as you got cursed out by somebody that worked for him. And um, I was happy with that.

[00:13:34] I'll burn any bridge. I don't want to be part of any because that album is sold to money, bro. But yeah, so those are the songs I worked on. I was there. Oh, and who it right? Who it right song?

[00:13:42] Um, that was the first day they sent me before I had been went to Tokyo. Listen DJ focus we got to go to a quick break. Don't touch that that we got Bryson Gray on and uh,

[00:13:53] he talking that talk uh, when you write back keep it locked. You tune into the fix. You know the fix is in this is still got a Bryson Gray on with us. So uh, come on Bryson Man, um, you know,

[00:14:04] you just said a lot today, man. Um, I do want to hear your hard man. What do you think we are, man? I love small little sub-john or a Christian hip hop. What do you think the state of Christian

[00:14:13] hip hop is right now in 2024. I mean, I think we have a little bit of everything. Um, but you know, and your humble opinion, what do you think we are? Uh, I feel like it's evolving. Um, but to be honest,

[00:14:25] I feel like the community is like a big high school. Um, and a lot of it is fake. And you know, maybe I got some loose, gruesome status. I just can't play the fake games. So I don't really care

[00:14:36] about being like friends with anybody. I like genuine stuff. I'm not about to be fake friends with anybody from the collab or just not my personality. I like as a big high school man. I'm like,

[00:14:44] you, you have people that's like, this is my crew and these are the people I'm supporting. I don't, I don't like that. Um, and I'm in a unique position because I, you know, when I came

[00:14:53] solely into the Christian hip hop community, I already have a follow-in with a lot of Christians. And I feel like you people instead of hating on me would have, uh, actually embraced it. I feel like

[00:15:03] the state of community could be even bigger than what it is right now because I'm introducing a bunch of Christians to Christian rap. Uh, but I've liked this the perfect time. If you look

[00:15:12] up if you look at the statistics, a lot of people are tired of the degenerate rap music. Uh, rap music actually the the market shared dropped to 25% which is top with pop. And so it's about

[00:15:23] to drop the second place when it's been first place for the last like seven years. Um, the the amount of top songs of profanity in it is coming down. People don't want to hear a lot of

[00:15:33] bunch of curse words anymore. Um, so when you look at things like that, uh, Christian hip-hop, we're in a good space of where we can go like it like with the potential. You know I'm saying

[00:15:45] because we we already don't curse and I've noticed a lot of people are like updating the the beat selection. You know what I'm saying? Up there is foul is becoming diverse. You start to have

[00:15:55] different styles of the rap and the Christian Christian hip hop genre. Um, I, I think it's coming. I think uh, I think it's growing already. I think we just need a few more um,

[00:16:08] bold people. Even if it's not me at the top like more mainstream. I'm controversial. I know it. What I'm saying is so me getting to that mainstream level was like maybe maybe not who knows

[00:16:19] what what that goes. So you know but we definitely need more bold people best of that's in the position to give other people opportunities. You know what should thoughts on, uh, uh, you know,

[00:16:29] D1 came forth and uh, was speaking on you know the whole make meals, Rick Ross and Jim Jones with them being kind of that's OGs in the game and them still kind of putting out you know some negative

[00:16:41] music that's probably impacting a lot of the youth that they, you know I'm pretty sure they are helping in the community but you know and so many words he was like you know you can't do both.

[00:16:51] You got to need to pick a size. So what was your thoughts on that and it's uh, breakfast club interview if you got a chance to start. I love that. I saw a few clips from the breakfast club

[00:16:58] interview. Love that loved it. Love that. You know what I'm saying? I was saying my first time seeing D1 with he had a clip where he was like um, he doesn't pit his blackness over God and and then I saw him

[00:17:10] getting into all the stuff with the other rappers and I meant I love it bro because that's what we need. He's actually getting to the mainstream level calling it out. You know what I'm saying now, you know

[00:17:19] I'm period. I'm supported 100%. I call that more sensitive topics. You know what I'm saying? But um, D1 that's what we need. That's what Chris Ratt made the, we mean more that happening. So uh,

[00:17:30] uh, I'm always, uh, even if I disagree with D1 or something he would always get like if anybody threatened D1 I feel like you threaten to me because I'm different than a lot of these other

[00:17:39] Chris rappers. I have my second amendment and the Bible is not against it and I have fire arms. So you threaten me we got a different thing come listen if you ain't been in the YouTube yet you better

[00:17:49] go to YouTube because when he said that was an understatement the man got cannons and stuff over there. I I seen I seen I seen a gun I ain't never seen before and I'm from the project and I was trying

[00:17:58] to say lower him. I didn't see all type of configured pistols and oh, I didn't see it but the one it it was that one I even know what that was. I said man that's some of my action movie that people don't

[00:18:10] think is for real. Yeah. Now a lot of my firearms on the ones you think are at movies. Yeah for real. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He's not rocking a lot. It's over there. Yeah. Yeah. Shout out to everybody. No,

[00:18:21] I'm gonna have to call a couple of my people's. No. I need to rock it a lot to I ain't going nowhere near Bryce today and got a rocket launch. Okay. That's one like people started

[00:18:30] dreading D1. I'm like well you know like these rappers you know a lot of rabbit they think they harvest like a lot of people are first of the other felons. I can't even have firearms legally.

[00:18:40] You know that's true. I promote murdering all piston things and in reality I might get teaching black people how to use a firearm how to carry a firearm how to take an

[00:18:51] apartment and bid the pet together because I feel like as biblical men we should be prepared for whatever is meant to go down but I definitely don't support the killing and stuff and they think

[00:18:59] they all are like I'm harm threatening you like man y'all need to admit now so I feel like somebody threatened D1 you threaten me. Come on man talk about this music what you're working on man. I know

[00:19:09] you're cooking up on something, man. It's been still in that first quarter of the year so I know you got some plans for the year bro talk to us. Yeah yeah next Friday I'm releasing a album

[00:19:20] Bryson the Demon Slayer and if it sounds like a movie title it's because it is. I'm also releasing a film 100% independent produced shot it myself my sister shot it I edited it myself I paid actors

[00:19:35] locations everything so I'm dropping a film the day before the album which is that Thursday on the 23rd the trailer should be and I should be posted a trailer Monday so I'm dropping an album

[00:19:46] with the movie to go along with the album but it's just as much as of a movie as it is an album. Oh that's what's up that's what's up what can we expect is it all just you and the collaboration zone

[00:19:57] a lot I got a lot of collabs you know I like collaborating with people you know something you know at fairs a lot of Christian hip-hop artists weren't trying to collab with me but now people open

[00:20:06] up so we got some you see I dropped the single with Mike Teezy you know what I'm saying yeah that's all but yeah like let me feel like there's half of album got features on

[00:20:15] I want to be like a group thing uh you know because you need people to I mean you just can't do it on your own and that's the message I was trying to relay with the album that's the message I was trying

[00:20:26] to relay with the film you need people with you to come back the wickedness in the world but y'all know how I come man get to pop corn ready man you know you know you know when I make music I'm

[00:20:36] I got a it is what somebody got to do it somebody got to say it and I'm gonna say it it's election year too so you know he ready it's election year so you know he ready he never shot away from Sepala Teezy

[00:20:51] I'm just aren't pouring like don't get me wrong you know pop up you positive different than the biobodafelite Christians have to be involved with politics but I feel like Christians should be aware of what's happening in politics um the reason I said that is because like there's a

[00:21:04] thing called the equality act has been on the verge of passing like three years and that's or four years that's like can affect Christians like a lot of stuff that happens in politics affects

[00:21:13] Christians the most especially now so I feel like Christians should be aware of like which palaces are being passed by who you know I'm saying don't support either side everybody know I'm gonna attack my Trump supporters I'm gonna attack my Liberals are doing mad I'm gonna

[00:21:25] take my everybody but I thought we should be aware man he's a he go after him too no so don't don't oh yeah no no listen if you this your first introduction to him listen just go on this page he

[00:21:37] go after them then listen they might attack you but they all think they attack you too long cause I see you all in your comments you respond to everybody just about well I like responding to me I've always social media was made to like interact with other people

[00:21:51] and I like getting those people thought seeing like what they think how they think what's the logical path they walk down and get here you know I mean you know this I'll talk to anybody

[00:21:59] you know yeah that's real why do you think politics continues to separate the church because cause I heard you say a lot in that absolutely I do think we do need to be informed but why

[00:22:10] do you think especially you know going into this year we already know as we get closer to the you know the election race you know you know we'll have the debates and then you'll then you'll

[00:22:21] have all the chatter you know whether you left the right why do you think that divides the church so much when we suppose to be all in the same time same team as believers and we can agree to

[00:22:30] this degree if we pick a different party in each other but it shouldn't be where we have these hate conversations as believers I'm talking about believers about politics why do you think that's still

[00:22:41] going on I don't think it's because of the silly very and you made this agree with this fine but the separate like don't mix politics and faith I believe that if you're gonna engage

[00:22:54] in politics if you're gonna if you're going to vote like I'm probably not voting in 2024 not for the presidential election at least I'm a vote locally but if you're gonna vote I've

[00:23:03] like there's no other way to do it as a Christian but hitting your faith into it because your faith should be the first thing that your first your faith should got every single thing you

[00:23:12] doing life the music is to what you eat what you eat what you eat I should influence everything you do in my opinion and I like the vibes and church because a lot of people feel like their

[00:23:22] politics is not connected to their faith but it is because if you support certain certain candidates listen when you vote for somebody you are voting for what their plan is that's how democracy

[00:23:34] works it's a bunch of people are voting for who they want to make the decisions on our behalf that's what democracy is so when you can support somebody you're supporting what they

[00:23:44] support if you like it or not and so I feel like people need to be very careful with who they support even if you're gonna support somebody if you're gonna support somebody looking to

[00:23:54] how they align with your faith that's what I do that's all right well we got the new project dropping you going on tour this summer and we expect a tour you apart any tours

[00:24:04] I want to do it I want to set up a tour but it's hard to do it's basically you end up in a panic so I don't know how to set up a tour but I do plan on doing one this year at

[00:24:14] some point that's the thing you're out of shots out there all our tour promoters out there you listen right now get it Bryson so you can hit me yeah hit no bucks so you can help them set up a tour all right bad I appreciate you coming

[00:24:31] through man come on and tell the people how they connect with you following you know all your social media platforms yes Bryson creates on Instagram if you want to see the super controversy real

[00:24:40] Bryson Gray on Twitter Bryson Gray on YouTube my last single is all yours or Mike TZ everybody things I only drop controversial songs after like I know all yours I'm like it's a good record

[00:24:53] no controversy we chill it that's the first one in a long time though I'm just looking out there because I listen to music right so that don't act like you you can put five

[00:25:03] out in the row and you you wouldn't you wouldn't know cheer like that's that's that's I don't think that's how your mental work your mental don't even work that way it's like no I need to go get this off my chest really quick

[00:25:15] first one about TZ the A there we go get some go