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 38) 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 Gray says his music is "about being human." This idea has 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. He also has a younger sister named Aubrey. Christon lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife, Shana Gray. They have two daughters, Mya Blue and Story Monroe Gray.

Music Journey

Early Years (2006–2011)

In 2006, Christon Gray was part of a music group called The Elevationists. He was in the group with his brother, Taelor, and a childhood friend named BJ. After a few years, the group broke up.

In 2011, Christon released his own album called Even With Evil With Me. He worked with his writing partner, Marlo Scott, on this album. One song from the album, 'Isle of You', became very popular. Soon after, a record company called Collision Records became interested in his music. He signed with them before the end of the year.

Joining Collision Records (2012–2014)

In 2012, Christon started working on his first official album for Collision Records. But as the project changed, he decided to release it as a free album called Body Art. This album was a big hit with his fans. It featured other artists and producers from the Christian hip hop (CHH) music style. Fans were surprised because Body Art was more of a rap album than his previous work.

In early 2013, Christon was part of a four-man group called W.L.A.K.. They released a group album called We Live As Kings. Christon sang on most of the songs. This album became very successful. It reached the top of the Billboard Gospel chart. It also made it into the top 10 on the Rap and Christian music 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 Gray released his second studio album, School of Roses. This album included popular songs like 'Vanish' and 'Wanna'. 'Wanna' reached No. 15 on the Billboard Live Trending chart. School of Roses was more of an R&B album. It debuted at the top of the overall charts on iTunes. It also reached No. 44 on the Billboard Top 200 and No. 5 on the Top R&B Albums chart.

New Beginnings with Fo Yo Soul/RCA (2015–2017)

In early 2015, Christon Gray started releasing new 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' online. In April 2015, he confirmed he was leaving Collision Records. He then released a mini-album (EP) called The Demos. It was available only on a Christian music app called "The Overflow." This mini-album became the most streamed project on the app in 2015.

It became clear that he 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, which is part of RCA. Kirk Franklin himself shared the news at a music festival. Christon then removed The Demos to work on his third official album.

On December 2, 2015, Christon Gray announced his next project, The Glory Album. It was set to be released on March 11, 2016. Before the album came out, he released a new song called 'Connor McDees'. It featured rapper Skyzoo and his brother Taelor.

Leading up to the album's release, ESPN chose Christon as one of their Artists of the Month for March. They played three of his songs: 'Open Door (See You Later),' 'The Glory Pt. I' and 'Stop Me'. The song 'Stop Me' became very popular. It was used in commercials for Honda, HBO's Ballers, and FOX's Lethal Weapon. It was also used at the ESPY Awards. Later, in 2018, 'Stop Me' was the theme song for the movie 'Rampage' starring The Rock. It was also the intro song for the EA Sports video game 'Madden '19'. For the 2018–19 NBA Season, ESPN used the song for its NBA Studio show.

Apple Music also chose 'Open Door (See You Later)' and 'Ft. Knox' as 'Best of the Week' singles. The Glory Album was released on March 11, 2016. It reached No. 5 on the Billboard R&B charts and No. 6 on the Christian chart.

In June 2016, Christon Gray was chosen as the first-ever youth ambassador for the BET Awards. After releasing just one album with RCA, Christon Gray announced in January 2017 that he had left the label. He said it was a business decision.

New Music and Return to RCA (2017)

In March 2017, Christon Gray started a podcast called 'Chris' Podcast' with Chris Shaban. They had famous guests like Ty Montgomery and Chris Broussard.

On July 28, Christon released a new song called 'No Hesitation' on his own. This was his first song since leaving Fo Yo Soul/RCA Records. He said the song was inspired by a speech rapper Lecrae gave at the BET Awards. Christon performed 'No Hesitation' live at the 2018 Stellar Awards.

A week later, on August 4, he released 'Shoulda Known'. This song used a part of his older song, 'Burning House (Roses 102)'. It featured his long-time friend and music partner, JGivens.

By the end of 2017, Christon Gray made a new agreement to rejoin Fo Yo Soul and RCA Inspiration. This news became public later in 2018.

Clear The Heir (2018)

In late 2017 and early 2018, Christon Gray let fans know he was writing new music. In February, he posted a picture from a writing session in Canada. He later shared that four songs were written during this time, and two of them, 'Seekrets' and 'Together Forever,' made it onto his new album.

In March, he posted more pictures from the studio with his team. He said that during one week in March 2018, many things came together. They created songs like 'Grow Up' and 'You & I (Sampson's Lament)'.

In April, during the Stellar Awards, rumors started that Christon had re-signed with Fo Yo Soul/RCA Records. A post with Kirk Franklin saying "Welcome home" confirmed the news.

On August 2, Christon began promoting his new album. He posted a video from a studio that hinted at an October 19 release date. This was later confirmed to be the release date for his album.

On August 24, he released the first song from the album, 'Together Forever'. This song included a part of an interview he did in 2016 where he talked about divorce.

On September 14, he released the album's second song, 'Time Out'. This song was produced by GiAngelo Power. 'Time Out' was featured on Spotify's 'Beastmode' Playlist. It also reached No. 11 on the Urban Christian CHR radio chart.

On September 21, RCA released the music video for 'Time Out'. It featured many Christian athletes like Ty Montgomery, Mike Conley, and A.J. Styles. The video's director, Chris Shaban, said they wanted to inspire the next generation of Christian athletes. They also started a #TimeOutChallenge, asking fans to rap over the song. The winner received signed shoes from Mike Conley and a signed jersey from Ty Montgomery.

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

Winner's Circle (2019)

One week after Clear The Heir was released, Christon Gray was allowed to leave RCA again. He did not say why he left, but he wished the label well.

A few months later, he released a mini-album called 'Winner's Circle'. It included the songs 'Round Here' with Dee-1 and 'All Day Flow'. In 'Round Here', he seemed to talk about his experience with record labels. He released the song to only one radio station, BOOST 101.9, where it became very popular.

A music video for 'Round Here' and 'All Day Flow' was released on May 14, 2020. It also ended with a hint about Christon's next album, School of Roses 2, which was planned for July 4, 2020.

Recent Music (2020)

On April 17, 2020, Christon Gray released a song called 'See You Soon'. He released it during the start of the pandemic to encourage people. The song asked people to help their neighbors. Mike Conley of the Utah Jazz used the song as part of his donations during the COVID-19 pandemic. By June 2020, the song was popular on Christian radio charts around the world.

On June 11, 2020, Christon Gray announced a new song called 'Beautiful Dreamer'. It was released on June 19, a holiday called Juneteenth.

Albums

Images for kids

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  Christon Gray during a video shoot.