HAMILTON, Ohio — Seventeen-year-old Grayson Morley was born with cerebral palsy, a group of disorders that affect movement, muscle tone, balance and posture.
“I have to wear braces all the time to keep my feet in alignment. That can cause muscle spasms, pain, sometimes it can even affect your back because I have one leg that’s shorter than the other. So I have to do this little kind of side-to-side walk,” said Grayson.
Because of his physical challenges, Grayson was often the target of bullies.
“With struggling to move and walking differently, a lot of people don’t understand what it’s like to be in our shoes. They tend to judge us by our appearance first before they can actually get to know us,” he told 10TV.
As painful as it was, Grayson decided to ignore the hate and ignorance of his bullies and use his love of music to educate other people to not do what they did.
On May 5, 2022, Grayson’s new single “Warm Up,” was released on streaming services and the music video dropped on YouTube.
“Everybody can listen to it, stream it, play it, do whatever they want, and you know, get the message and share it,” he said.
That message is one the young rapper hopes will inspire other young people with cerebral palsy or other disabilities. Grayson wants to be a voice for kids who can’t speak up for themselves.
“There are no words that can even describe how proud I am of him,” said Tammy Morley, Grayson’s mother.
Tammy has always been her son’s biggest fan. She’s cheered him on his whole life as he struggled through his own physical and emotional pain.
“He’s one of the toughest people I’ve ever met,” she says. “He never gives up.”
Tammy never gave up on him either. The message she instilled in Grayson is now the message he’s sharing with the world.
“I’ve always told him, you are not disabled, you are differently-abled,” she said. “You can do anything anybody else does. You just may need to find a different way to do it, but it can be done.”
If you’d like to be inspired, you can hear the song and watch Grayson’s video below.