Tres Carter is a 25-year-old hip-hop artist from Columbus, Ohio, home to other well-known Christian hip-hop artists such as Yaves and Christon Gray.
He wasn’t one of the people who grew up going to church every Sunday, however. Growing up with his sister and single mother, they rarely went to church. “Growing up, I really thought that I was God,” Tres mentions. He was a successful young man in his teen years, being homecoming king at his high school as well as being a great athlete, such as being “All-Ohio” in track and football and even receiving college scholarships for his athletic abilities.
At a young age, Tres was also recognized for his musical talents and abilities. During his college years, he became an artist on a regionally renowned record label, but while in college, he went wild.
[My] college experience introduced me to all manner of drugs. That freedom enslaved me.
When he released his first project with the label, he left college where he ended up working for an employer that didn’t do background checks or drug tests on their employees, leaving him unaccountable for his daily drug highs and drunkenness. He later ended up at a better job where he started working with Marlo Scott, a man known behind the scenes as Christon Gray’s musical director.
[Marlo] didn’t go right into the Gospel presentation, but he lived the Gospel in front of me without saying a word.
At that time he also dated a girl who was Christian, sometimes going to church with her, though still partaking in a worldly lifestyle, such as rolling blunts while on the way to church. These visits eventually had an impact on Tres and his lifestyle as the Word of God met him where he was and spoke his language. It was in the summer of 2010 when Tres recognized his need for a Savior and got baptized, though he was still living the life of a rapper, being in clubs all the time. When he started bringing his Bible to work, however, Marlo started to disciple him, challenging him with scriptures. Marlo would ask him, “How would God bless you for making music that completely disagrees with the Word that you’re reading?” Marlo invited Tres to his church, which is where he met Christon and Taelor Gray.
It was after that meeting that he did a “cold turkey” on the life that he was living. He deactivated his social networks, phone, and TV.
Literally that whole winter 2010-11, it was just the Lord and I. He really revealed Himself to me, and who I am in Him. I came into 2011 on fire for the Lord.
