OWNING HER NARRATIVE: Shay McCray

INTERVIEW TOREY SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY @MISTERBMAC

BEFORE THE MIC EVER TURNED ON

Shay McCray did not find media—media found her.

Long before studios, soundboards, or national distribution became part of her vocabulary, Shay had already mastered the most important skill in broadcasting: presence. People spoke to her freely. Not out of obligation or curiosity, but out of comfort. Stories unfolded around her without effort. Vulnerability followed her into rooms she didn’t even realize were sacred.

“I’ve always been the person people open up to,” Shay says. “Even when I didn’t ask. Even when I didn’t expect it.”

At first, it felt ordinary. But patterns have a way of revealing purpose. Over time, Shay began to understand that what felt natural to her was rare to others. She wasn’t just hearing people—she was holding space for them.

“One day it just hit me,” she recalls. “My voice wasn’t just meant to be heard. It was meant to connect.”

That realization would quietly become the foundation of everything she built next.

LIFE AS THE CLASSROOM

There is a difference between knowing how to speak and knowing when to speak. Shay McCray learned the latter not through training manuals or media coaching, but through life.

Motherhood reshaped her priorities and deepened her empathy. Heartbreak taught her how to sit with pain—her own and others’. Reinvention forced her to confront fear, uncertainty, and growth head-on. Each chapter refined her voice, not by polishing it, but by grounding it.

“Life did the training long before radio ever did,” Shay says. “I don’t speak from theory. I speak from experience.”

That distinction defines her presence behind the mic. Shay does not posture. She does not perform expertise. She speaks as someone who has lived enough to understand nuance.

“Everything I say comes from something I’ve survived,” she explains. “That’s where my confidence comes from.”

In an industry often obsessed with image, Shay’s credibility is rooted in truth.

THE DECISION TO STEP FORWARD

The transition into media wasn’t about chasing fame—it was about answering a call. Shay recognized that the same conversations people trusted her with privately could serve a larger purpose publicly.

“I realized that the things people were sharing with me weren’t just for me,” she says. “They were meant to help someone else.”

The Shay McCray Show was born from that understanding. It wasn’t designed to be flashy. It was designed to be real.

“I wanted to create a space where people didn’t have to pretend,” Shay says. “Where culture and honesty could exist in the same room.”

The show quickly developed a reputation for depth, warmth, and authenticity. Conversations were allowed to breathe. Silence wasn’t feared. Emotion wasn’t edited out.

ALIGNMENT OVER ACCESS

When The Shay McCray Show found a home on FUBU Radio, the moment felt bigger than career progression—it felt spiritual.

“FUBU isn’t just a brand,” Shay says. “It represents ownership, culture, and legacy.”

That alignment mattered. Shay wasn’t interested in platforms that required compromise.

“I needed to be somewhere that respected the culture and the people,” she explains.

Expanding nationally through iHeartRadio further validated her instincts.

“When iHeartRadio took the show national, it felt like confirmation,” Shay says. “Like everything I believed about betting on myself was right.”

THE INTIMACY OF CONVERSATION

Shay’s interviews don’t feel like interviews. They feel like conversations you weren’t meant to overhear—but are grateful you did.

“I don’t rush moments,” she says. “I let people be human.”

Her listening creates safety. Guests sense it immediately. Walls lower. Truth rises.

“It’s not about asking the perfect question,” Shay explains. “It’s about being present enough to hear the real answer.”

Some of the most impactful moments happen unexpectedly.

“When someone tells me, ‘I’ve never said that out loud before,’ that’s everything,” she says.

Trust is sacred in Shay’s world.

“I never forget that people are trusting me with their truth,” she adds.

CULTURE WITHOUT COMPROMISE

As a Black woman with a national media platform, Shay understands that visibility carries weight.

“Representation matters,” she says. “But so does honesty.”

Her platform refuses to flatten Black stories into digestible narratives. Wins and wounds are treated with equal respect.

“We own our narratives here,” Shay says. “All of them.”

She rejects the idea that Black women must choose between strength and softness.

“We are layered,” she explains. “We can be bold and vulnerable at the same time.”

That philosophy defines both her content and her leadership.

THE WORK PEOPLE DON’T SEE

Behind the ease of Shay’s on-air presence is discipline. Preparation. Rejection. Growth.

“People think radio is glamorous,” she says. “They don’t see the work.”

Media, she insists, is a business.

“Longevity requires evolution,” Shay explains.

Her preparation is intentional but flexible.

“I research. I ground myself. Then I let go,” she says. “The magic lives in the unscripted.”

A BRAND THAT EXTENDS BEYOND RADIO

Shay McCray is not just a host—she is a builder.

Through brand partnerships, event hosting, and creative direction, she has expanded her influence while maintaining control of her narrative. As CEO of Le’ Shay Collection, she applies the same intentionality to entrepreneurship.

“Everything I touch has to align with who I am,” she says.

Versatility is her strategy.

“The more skills you have, the more power you hold,” Shay explains.

Ownership remains non-negotiable.

GROWTH WITHOUT LOSING SELF

As the show grows, Shay remains rooted.

“Expansion doesn’t mean losing yourself,” she says. “It means reaching more people.”

Television, digital streaming, live experiences, and global reach are all part of her vision—but never at the expense of authenticity.

“The purpose stays the same,” Shay explains. “Only the reach changes.”

THE LEGACY SHE’S BUILDING

When Shay McCray speaks about legacy, she doesn’t speak about numbers.

“I want my voice to mean something,” she says.

She wants her journey to serve as permission.

“I want people to know you can win by being yourself,” Shay says. “By telling the truth. By holding space.”

In a media world obsessed with volume, Shay McCray leads with presence. And in that presence, something rare still exists—connection.

Not manufactured.

Not rushed.

Not diluted.

Real.

VALIDATED.