Born and raised in Maywood, Illinois, and singing from a young age, he spent much of his youth aspiring to a career in baseball, eventually playing for Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Illinois. From college, he was drafted by MLB's New York Mets in 2002 and spent five (nonconsecutive) years playing professional minor-league baseball. During that span, he continued to devote energies to ministry and singing. He ultimately accepted an invitation to tour with Grammy-winning gospel artist Smokie Norful as a backup singer, and built a performance résumé working with other artists including but not limited to Fred Hammond, Donnie McClurkin, and Michelle Williams. In 2011 he issued his solo debut, Pulling Me Through, which appeared on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart in 2013 after receiving a label release with Gold Street Gospel Entertainment. The album led to a record deal with Entertainment One, which released his gospel-charting version of "The Anthem" (already known to praise & worship fans as a hit by Australia's the Planetshakers) in the spring of 2015. The song appeared on his sophomore outing, A Worshipper's Heart, released in April 2016. The LP reached number one on the gospel chart. ~ Marcy Donelson