Born and raised in St. Louis, Marcus T. Williams-Gray, a.k.a. FLAME converted to Christianity at age 16. Known previously as a rowdy student, Marcus’s behavior changed radically as he entered his senior year of high school in 1998. He became actively involved in church and went from performing “gangsta rap,” or “street rap,” to writing personal devotional Gospel raps.
Marcus soon discovered the music of Cross Movement, a Christian rap group, which he said impacted him profoundly.
“When I heard their music, they would talk about different elements of the Gospel that I had never heard before,” he said. “That piqued my interest, and I always looked forward to their new albums. Every new album was like taking a course related to the Gospel.”Proving to be quite the multi-tasker, as he continues to sign phenomenal talent like V. Rose, Mike REAL and (formerly Young Noah) to his boutique label, Clear Sight Music, GRAMMY® -nominated and Billboard topper Christian hip-hop artist Flame has been on quite a creative tear himself lately. Flame hasn’t stopped writing since and loves using the medium of hip-hop to not only minister to the hurting and build up the body of Christ, but to tell the story of His Savior to a world that desperately needs to hear it.