Empire Star Bryshere ‘Yazz’ Gray On Fame & Working With Timberland

Being signed to Columbia Records:

Yeah, Columbia is family. They treat us good and it’s good over there. I’m working on the album now. I’m always recording. I just built a recording studio in my condo [in Chicago] so I’m always recording and making beats.

How he is dealing with the fame:

Yeah, I’m not foreign to it because I’ve been going through this since I was in high school. I get it. It’s overwhelming sometimes, but I still go and get groceries and do what I want to do.

Plans on taking his talents to the big screen:

I was in Brotherly Love, that was my first movie. I was like, an extra in it. I was focusing on my music. I just got signed to Interscope, I was touring, so acting wasn’t really my first obligation — it was music and performance. I wake up and love doing it; I could do that in my sleep. When Empire came, that shifted how I move around. I couldn’t perform as much, I couldn’t put a lot of music out. But at the same time, I got to be on a big show and put on a great platform. So it’s good either way.

His family life:

Without my family, I probably wouldn’t have made it past season 1. The fame was cracking down very hard. It was a whole ‘nother level. It was hard to adjust to it and work at the same time. So I had to have my family around, they was like my shield. They made sure I stayed out of trouble.

By -OctaviaNakia