“God's given me these words and these melodies and put it all together.”
Rising artist “THEHONESTY” shares his truth on the music styles God called him to.
Interview by Cody Cooksey
August 12, 2026
You've been posting a bunch lately, teasing a new direction and some new work. What are your expectations?
This first song that I've released (11:59), is about the frustrations of waiting, and the tensions of seemingly being stuck, or feeling like you're in the wilderness season and wanting to get through to the next thing. Feeling like you’re late or you’ve missed it. It’s that wrestle with God, as well as “why am I here?” or “why am I not somewhere else?” I’ve had these moments of looking back and in hindsight, seeing that everything worked out just as it was meant to, and the timing was perfect. Almost shocked by the way I would see the trail of His hand upon the whole process or situation, I would think “Why am I surprised?” That’s His perfect timing.
That's just a little taste of what the first song that I'm putting out is about, but there's a lot of those themes running through the ones to follow. I guess in terms of what I'm expecting, my expectation is that it would be out in the world. I just want to get it out there. No particular expectations for how far it goes, but if it lands with a few people, and it means something to someone then that's all I’m really hoping for. It's really just the start of more to come.
What do you think listeners will gain from your lyrics and style of music?
I always like to think these songs are conversations with God, and that's kind of how I see them. They're the inner struggle and tension between what's in your mind and what's in your heart, and the tug-of-war between those two things. I find that the inner struggles in the questions that we ask, even if they're open-ended questions, are quite fascinating. The way that I talk to God and think about things. That's the dialogue that we have with the Lord in our minds.
How did you come to find your style, your genre, and your voice in this music scene? How did you come up with “THEHONESTY”?
I'll take you back a bit to where the name, THEHONESTY, came from. About 15 years ago, it was a band that I had written songs for, and we were releasing music at the time, so quite some time ago. For a number of reasons, there was a big pause where I wasn't doing anything, where I felt like I wasn't in the space to write music. More recently, God's given me these words and these melodies and put it all together. So that name, I don't even remember completely how I came to that. I think the idea of literally just being honest, and blurting out what comes to mind, was the thought process behind that name. I've carried that over and am continuing to use that.
In terms of style, I had a lot of influences from early 2000s alternative/emo music. Some of that will just come through naturally, just because I've listened to that music growing up. Over the years, I have listened to lots of old rock, all kinds of pop and even R&B and hip-hop. I think that as this project takes shape, there will be a few different types of sounds that I didn't even expect. I'm still scratching the surface of finding my voice, and figuring out how it all sounds and comes together.
Earlier this year, you shared your rendition of “Too Good” by Gable Price and Friends. Walk us through the process of your added lyrics?
Hearing Gable Price’s heart behind the song, and the lyrics that he already had, I got a feel for what he was trying to say. It was bold. Just wanting to be honest about the Christian industry of church. I was looking at it from the perspective of how we're often looking at creating such a polished, finished product. Unhealthy outcomes-focused and on the gains and the growth within the church. Some of my lyrics were touching on that. Something that I've experienced in the church in the past has been this big focus on “having to do this, and you've got to do that”, lots of works based stuff, and it seemed that it didn't even really matter what was happening or whether the Spirit was leading us in a different direction or not. There was often a schedule, where everything was planned out, but I think it's very important that we're following the Spirit, that we're being led by the Spirit, and it’s not like we have this specific plan we need to follow. That was part of what I was trying to say in that. I look back to that verse, where it says that “the harvest is ripe, but the workers are few” (Matthew 9:37), and I found it so interesting. If we're not working, if the workers are few, and they're not even working for the Lord, if they're working for a corporation or for a man, it’s like we're so far behind. We need to be working for the Lord. It’s all for Him. He will return and we need to be ready.
What is your elevator testimony?
I made the decision to follow Jesus when I was five years old. I remember sitting on my bed and my mum was there. She talked about Jesus, as she often did. I was praying, and I guess that's the question she asked. “Hey, do you want to follow Jesus?” I said, “Yeah, I want that.” It was a no-brainer for me. I've always believed in God from that moment. A lot of things have happened since then, but I've always had that assurance and this knowledge that God is real. I think it's so obvious in the world around us, when you look at creation, our hands, or the way that we function on the inside. We were created by a Creator. It's one of those things where I know it to be true. It's not actually that easy to say to someone “you should also know”, but I would say that the Lord is real, He made us in His image, He is written all over everything around us, He speaks to me, He heals me, and He is always there.
What is your life verse?
One verse that I always have in my head, I will always remember, and always refer back to, is Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” I think one huge thing in my life is the trust part, trusting in the Lord. I continue to trust Him more and more with everything. It’s so foundational. And it’s pretty good news. It's pretty straightforward. So I always love that verse.
You can check out THEHONESTY on Instagram and Spotify.