We recently connected with Grant Ray and have shared our conversation below.

Grant, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ll tell ya, it was a typical dark, melancholy night in my home as a 5 year old child living in a violent broken household and music was my escape. I was listening to the radio and this song “RYTHM OF THE NIGHT” came on. I’ll never forget how addicted to the song and the soulful vocals I was. From that moment on I knew I wanted to be a singer and a professional musician. There was no question. Something in me just clicked and I was sure.

Grant, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a 33 year old professional singer, songwriter, music artist as well as a visual artist and YouTuber. I have been singing and writing music since age 9 and began my career as an independent artist at age 20. It has been a wild ride but I have been very fortunate to have achieved what I have without any major company behind me. I came from nothing so I had a hunger in me to succeed from a young age growing up in poverty and a violent household. This hunger is reflected in all of my music and I am still as dedicated to my music present day as an accomplished 33 year old musician as I was as a battered, hungry and dream filled youth. I would say I am most proud of my shows throughout the years as that is where I feel all my talent and work as a vocalist and entertainer has fully shined through. I have done countless shows both solo and with various bands throughout Florida and Atlanta and it has been an amazing experience.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Where do I start… I did write a book about this after all Lol. My journey is not one for the weak or faint of heart. I have truly been through the ringer but I’m still here. Something many would never guess about me is the fact that I was actually briefly homeless for a few months a couple years back during the recording and release of my third studio album “2.0”. As an independent artist, I am essentially my own record label. Thousands and thousands of dollars have to come from my own pockets to commission everything from studio cost’s, production, photographers, videographers, pr and so much more regarding my music career. It is a very difficult business to navigate independently. I had quite a bit of financial trouble for a few challenging months in which left me homeless briefly as stated. Despite the circumstances I made things happen and pushed through to write, record and release my album as well as do countless live shows during the promotion for the album. This period of time which was 2019 was one of my most successful years musically despite financial hardship and some of my best memories came from that year.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Throughout my entire life I have held true to my ultimate calling – to inspire. That has been my mission since I began singing and writing music as a child. Coming from a violent, abusive and traumatic childhood, I grew up having to literally fend for my life. Every day was a battle to stay alive. And the one thing I found inspiration in and the faith to stay strong was music. Music saved me and without it I would have exited this world long ago. And having been inspired by the greats – Whitney, Mariah, Aretha, Michael, Prince, etc I wanted to inspire generations after me the same way these legendary artist’s inspired and impacted me. I was never the luckiest. And certainly not the best looking. But I was always the most talented and I used my talent to the best of my ability to rise from where I began. That is why it is so important that my music reflects the faith and hope my music heroes gave me. Many artist’s do what they do for money and fame. For me I never did it for any reason but for the fact that it is simply who I am. I am a vocalist. A songwriter and a musician. And it is not about the gimmicks in my world. It is about making real music to inspire real people to achieve real things in the real world. And if I have done that for even 1 person, I know I Have done my job.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://grantraykingdom.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/grantray100
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/THEREALONE52

Image Credits
Emanuel Ramirez