Christon Gray facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Christon Gray
Background information
Birth name	Christon Michael Gray
Also known as	Flow Jackson
Born	(1986-07-18) July 18, 1986 (age 39) Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
Genres	Contemporary R&B, Christian hip hop
Occupation(s)	Singer, rapper
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Fo Yo Soul/RCA, Collision Records
Associated acts	Kirk Franklin, Taelor Gray, W.L.A.K., JGivens, The Elevationists

Christon Michael Gray (born July 18, 1986) is an American R&B singer and rapper. He grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Christon says his music is "about being human." This idea helped him move from Christian music to more general music.

About Christon Gray

Christon Michael Gray was born on July 18, 1986, in Columbus, Ohio. His dad, Arthur Gray, used to lead a choir. His mom, Leigh Ann, is a trained singer. Christon has an older brother, Taelor Gray, who is also a rapper and a pastor. His younger sister is Aubrey. Christon lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife, Shana Gray. They have two daughters, Mya Blue and Story Monroe Gray, who was born in February 2020.

Music Journey

Early Music: The Elevationists and Even With Evil With Me (2006–2011)

In 2006, Christon Gray was part of a group called The Elevationists. He was with his brother, Taelor, and a childhood friend named BJ (James Hazley). After a few years, the group decided to stop making music together.

In 2011, Christon released an album called Even With Evil With Me. He worked with his writing partner, Marlo Scott, on this project. The album was released independently, meaning it wasn't with a big record company. One popular song from it was 'Isle of You'. This song quickly got the attention of record labels. By the end of that year, he signed with Collision Records.

Working with Collision Records: Body Art and School of Roses (2012–2014)

In 2012, Christon started working on his first official album for Collision Records. But as it changed, he decided to release it for free as a mixtape called Body Art. Fans really liked Body Art. It featured other artists and producers from the Christian hip hop music scene. This album surprised many fans because it had more rap songs than his previous work.

In early 2013, Christon was part of a group album called We Live As Kings (W.L.A.K.). He was a member of this four-man group and sang on most of the songs. The album became very popular. It reached the top of the Billboard Gospel chart. It also made it into the top 10 on the Rap and Christian charts. A song from the album, 'King in Me', was even used as the theme song for an American Idol commercial during the Super Bowl in 2014.

On March 25, 2014, Christon released his second studio album, School of Roses. This album included fan favorites like 'Vanish' (featuring Swoope) and 'Wanna' (featuring JGivens). 'Wanna' reached number 15 on the Billboard Live Trending chart. School of Roses was more of an R&B album, different from Body Art. It quickly became number one on the overall charts on iTunes. It also reached number 44 on the Billboard Top 200 and number 5 on the Top R&B Albums chart.

New Beginnings: Fo Yo Soul/RCA and The Glory Album (2015–2017)

In early 2015, Christon Gray started releasing music on his own. This made fans wonder if he was still with Collision Records. He posted songs like 'Open Door (See You Later)' and 'Afraid With You' on his SoundCloud page. He also released 'Light On' featuring B.Reith. On April 28, 2015, Christon confirmed he was leaving Collision Records. He then released an EP called The Demos. This EP was available only on "The Overflow," a Christian music streaming app. The Demos became the most streamed project on the service in 2015. All five of its songs held the top 5 spots the week it was released.

It became clear that Christon was using these songs to find a new record deal. In June 2015, he announced that he had signed with Kirk Franklin's label, Fo Yo Soul Recordings/RCA. Kirk Franklin himself shared the news at Alive Fest in Ohio on June 20, 2015. After signing, Christon took down The Demos to work on his third official album.

On November 18, 2015, Christon told Rapzilla.com that his first album with Fo Yo Soul was finished. He said it was planned for release in late 2016. A few weeks later, on December 2, 2015, he released a video that showed the name and release date of his next project, The Glory Album. It was set to be released on March 11, 2016.

Two weeks after that, he released the first new song from the album on Vevo. It was called 'Connor McDees' and featured Brooklyn rapper Skyzoo and his brother Taelor.

Before the album came out, ESPN chose Christon as one of their Artists of the Month for March. ESPN featured three of his songs: 'Open Door (See You Later)', 'The Glory Pt. I', and 'Stop Me'. These songs were played on all their regular shows. 'Stop Me' became very popular. It was used in commercials for Honda, HBO's Ballers, FOX's Lethal Weapon, and RocNation Sports. It was also played at the ESPY Awards during the final part of the show. A remix of the song was first heard during his interview on the Sway in the Morning show in September 2016. The song continued to be successful in 2017. It was used on FOX Sports shows worldwide and as a team song for many professional sports teams. In 2018, 'Stop Me' was the theme song for the Warner Bros Pictures movie 'Rampage' starring The Rock. It was also the intro song for EA Sports' 'Madden '19' NFL video game. For the 2018–19 NBA Season, ESPN used the song for its NBA Studio show. In 2020, ABC used it in commercials for their show 'For Life'.

During this time, Apple Music chose 'Open Door (See You Later)' and 'Ft. Knox' as 'Best of the Week' singles back to back. The Glory Album also got important placements on Amazon Music, iTunes, Google Play, TIDAL, and Spotify.

The Glory Album was released on March 11, 2016. The album again reached the number 5 spot on the Billboard R&B charts. It also hit number 6 on the Christian chart.

Christon Gray was chosen as the first-ever youth ambassador for the BET Awards in June 2016.

After releasing just one album with the label, Christon told fans that he had officially left RCA in January 2017. He didn't say why, but he mentioned it was a business decision.

New Music and Return to RCA (2017)

In March 2017, Christon Gray and Chris Shaban started their own podcast called 'Chris' Podcast'. The first two episodes featured guests like Ty Montgomery, Chris Broussard, and Darren Haynes. Christon said this was a test program and they hoped to bring it back later.

On July 28, Christon released a song called 'No Hesitation' on his own. This was his first song since leaving Fo Yo Soul/RCA Records. In an interview, Christon said the song was inspired by watching the BET Awards and seeing Lecrae's speech. He said he grew up listening to artists like Lecrae. 'No Hesitation' became another hit song for Christon. He performed it live at the 2018 Stellar Awards.

A week later, on August 4, he released 'Shoulda Known'. This song included a part of his earlier song, 'Burning House (Roses 102)' from the School of Roses album. It featured his long-time friend and collaborator JGivens.

On Sunday, November 5, Christon Gray was announced as the new Worship Leader at Christ's Church in Mason, Ohio.

By the end of 2017, Christon had agreed to rejoin Fo Yo Soul and the new team at RCA Inspiration in Nashville. This news became public later in 2018.

Clear The Heir Album (2018)

In late 2017 and early 2018, Christon Gray let fans know he was writing new music. In February, he posted on Instagram about a writing session in Cambridge, Ontario, with Chris Shaban and Ty Montgomery. He later shared that four songs were already written, with two of them, 'Seekrets' and 'Together Forever,' making it onto the album.

In March, there were many posts from the studio. These included his music director Marlo Scott, producer GiAngelo Power, Pastor Trevor DeVage, Montgomery, and Shaban. Christon said on Twitter that "everything started to come together" during one week in March 2018. That week, they created 'Grow Up', 'You & I (Sampson's Lament),' and worked on other songs for the album.

At the Stellar Awards in April, rumors started that Christon had re-signed with Fo Yo Soul/RCA Records. Even though it had happened months before, a post with Kirk Franklin saying "Welcome home" started the buzz. After one more studio picture that month, Christon took a break from social media. No more updates came until late summer.

On August 2, a post from the famous Canadian studio Metalworks showed "October 19" and his collaborators. This started the promotion for his new album. Later, it was announced that the album would be released on October 19.

On August 24, he released the first song, 'Together Forever'. This song included a part of his September 2016 interview on Sirius XM's 'Sway in the Morning', where he talked about divorce.

On September 14, he released the album's second song, 'Time Out'. It was produced by GiAngelo Power from Toronto. This song was featured on Spotify's 'Beastmode' Playlist. It reached number 11 on the Urban Christian CHR radio chart, 'The Hot Chart'. It stayed on that chart for six months.

On September 21, RCA released the music video for 'Time Out'. It featured many Christian athletes, including Ty Montgomery, Mike Conley, A.J. Styles, Steven Sousa Jr., Andre Ward, and Michelle Plouffe. Chris Shaban, who co-wrote the song and directed the video, said they wanted to inspire the next generation. The video came with the #TimeOutChallenge. Fans were asked to rap over the song's music. The winner received signed Jordan Brand shoes from Conley and a signed Green Bay Packers jersey from Montgomery.

On October 12, Christon Gray released the third song from the album, 'Grow Up'. It was quickly added to many playlists on Spotify, including 'New Music Friday' and 'Blessings'.

Winner's Circle and Future Plans (2019–2020)

One week after Clear The Heir was released, Christon Gray was allowed to leave RCA again. He didn't say why he asked to leave a second time, but he wished the label well.

A few months later, he released a maxi-single called 'Winner's Circle'. It featured the songs 'Round Here' with Dee-1 and 'All Day Flow'. In 'Round Here', he seemed to talk about his record label situation. He released the song to one radio station, BOOST 101.9, in St. Louis, at their request. The song reached number 5 on BOOST.

A video for both songs from 'Winner's Circle' was released on May 14, 2020. It included Dee-1's part from 'Round Here' and a full video for 'All Day Flow'. The video ended with a hint about Christon Gray's upcoming album, School of Roses 2. It was planned for release on Independence Day 2020.

On April 17, 2020, Christon Gray released a song called 'See You Soon'. He released this song early in the COVID-19 pandemic to encourage people. The song's description asked people to help their neighbors. Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz used the song as part of his donation announcement during the pandemic. As of June 2020, the song was number 11 on the Christian CHR and Rhythmic radio chart. It was also played on major radio stations in Canada, France, England, Australia, New Zealand, and other places. The song's producers, Phantom and Chris Shaban, were interviewed about it.

On June 11, 2020, Christon Gray posted an album cover and song title, 'Beautiful Dreamer'. This song was released on Juneteenth (June 19).

Music Albums