Written by: Bella Durgin-Johnson Staff Writer for UNSUGARCOATED Media

July 5, 2021

Although gospel music has inspired musical genres like rock and roll, pop, hip-hop and rap for decades, strict ideas about what religious music should sound like still dominate the gospel world. Pastor and international recording artist, T-RAN, is working to change that. T-RAN has spent his career finding a way to stay true to God while pushing the boundaries of the sound associated with religious music and making an impact on his community. 

Growing up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, music has shaped T-RAN since childhood. At the age of three, he danced and sang on the kitchen table, and by thirteen, T-RAN was an opening act touring with musicians. Now, T-RAN has shared the stage with an impressive assortment of well-known musicians including Kirk Franklin, Shania Twain, and Kool & The Gang, toured across three continents, released albums, and received countless awards for his work. 

His decades-long music career has not come without challenges. T-RAN, who tours and performs in churches, has received pushback from certain congregations that his music was too “of the world.” This is not a new conversation, yet despite the challenges, T-RAN believes he is helping change the way people look at gospel music by intertwining his religious and musical calling to passionately support his communities. He believes that through music he is showing a sense of personal responsibility and humanity.  This is the impact he intends to leave on the world of music as he continues to push his career.

“I am a person that is imperfect, serving a perfect God, and my music is meant to reflect that,” said T-RAN.

Despite the challenges of the secular music industry and the pushback of the church, T-RAN considers his music to be gospel, even if it diverges from the genre’s typical sound. T-RAN strives to create music that is on “the fence,” music that is transparent about the struggles of life as well as the power of redemption. 

“I want people to get from my music that they can be healed, they can be set free, they’re not alone, and that they may find faith and God,” said T-RAN.

Performing within the church and staying true to his love and devotion towards God have remained central to his career while navigating and growing within the music industry. T-RAN’s two newest singles, “Overcomer” and “Save Me,” both deal with the complexities of life while reinforcing that there is always hope and no one ever struggles alone. 

“Save Me” became an unexpected success for T-RAN when the single caught the eye of R&B hitmaker, Ne-Yo. The Grammy Award winner loved the song so much, he shared  “Save Me” to his social media and invited T-RAN to join him on Instagram Live. Growing up in the world of music, Ne-Yo has always been a major source of inspiration for T-Ran.

T-Ran is now hard at work on his newest album, “22VISIONZ,” which is set to release in the fall of 2021. In addition to the album release, T-Ran will be touring the United States to share his music with fans in a live setting for the first time since the pandemic shut down live tours for musicians. 

Giving back to his community has always been essential to T-Ran, and nurturing upcoming artists is a big focus of his. Within his cities of Chattanooga and Nashville, T-Ran can see how his music affects people. Being able to inspire his community to work towards their dreams, just as he did himself, is a hugely important part of the legacy he is building. He is inspiring and helping other artists through production as well as signing them himself- currently having three artists under contract. 

Now more than ever, T-Ran sees that the church is ready for secular Christian music and he hopes to carry the message of God’s love, forgiveness, and support to everyone that needs it through the dynamic world that is the modern-day music industry. T-Ran has made it his mission to use his musical platform to remind others they are supported and loved more than they may know. 

“Don’t give up on yourself. Know that you have value, you never know what God is doing, and keep the doors open so that you may continue impacting people, you are an asset” said T-Ran.