The Gray Kid’s self-described “trunk-wobbling anthems and ballads of love and lust” have been setting off clubs from NYC to his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, generating an increasingly deafening buzz. Until recently forming his live band, SPIRIT ANIMAL, he was doing this with merely an iPod, a wireless mic, and his larger than life personality. Now with a four-piece around him made up of top-call musicians who have recorded and toured with Ben Harper, The Pharcyde, Taj Mahal and Tricky, he heads into 2008 completing his next record, Willoughby, produced by Gray and L.A. vintage guru Computer Jay, and mixed by Danny Kalb (Beck, Neon Neon, They Might Be Giants, Rilo Kiley).

Mixing soulful crooning with clever, thought-provoking witticisms, The Gray Kid draws comparisons to Outkast and Prince for his ability to make accessible, body-rocking music that is truly about something. “I want to give people music they really want,” he says, “music they can enjoy and draw inspiration from over a long period of time. Everybody celebrating at once, that’s my goal.”

Gray recently received high praise from various media outlets (Yahoo, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, Interview), shared the stage with leaders of the new school pack (M.I.A., Cool Kids), and licensed a track to NBC’s 30 Rock, all without a record deal. “It’s a great time,” he says of being unsigned, “but the opportunities are endless now, and I know that ultimately I will be a catalog artist despite how fragile the industry seems. We’ve built something here that isn’t going to go away, and I’m anxious to share it with as many people as possible.”

The Gray Kid’s strong foundation rests partially on the two albums he’s self-produced, –recorded and –released, partially on the slew of sweaty shows he’s done in cities big and small, and partially on the online presence of his hot-button art collective, People-Food (United Talent Agency/Benderspink). The collective’s work has garnered more than 2.5 million YouTube views, with the first half of ’08 set to yield three new sketches and a Gray Kid music video for “EH MAN,” his raucous ode to living fast and cheap.

The in-house multimedia assault has enabled Gray to stay current, accompanying his records with forward-thinking visuals at every turn. “The idea is to combine art with entertainment, intelligence, commerce, and cool. We’re conscious of the fact that there are hundreds of thousands of people watching and listening to videos and music every minute, and that motivates us. I'm trying to engage in a two-way conversation with the audience, to bring something fresh and exciting to them that moves me at the same time. People are smart and ready. Words like indie and pop mean less and less and we should all be proud of having created this new world where that is the case.”