Bryshere Gray: From Yazz The Greatest To Hakeem Lyon To 30 Under 30

‘Empire’ State of Mind:Fox’s hip-hop drama gave Gray a platform for his career, both as a rapper and an actor. (Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images for GQ Magazine)

Up until 2015, Bryshere Gray was better known as the Philadelphia rapper Yazz The Greatest. He gained enough stature as such to earn a spot openingfor 2 Chainz and Fabolous at Jay Z’s Made In America Music Festival in 2013.

But landing a role on Fox’s Empiresupercharged his career, and now his profile as fictional rapper Hakeem Lyon...