Ask Grady Champion what he’s been up to recently, and he’ll quickly boil it down to two things.

“I’m just entertaining and taking care of business,” says an energetic and easy going Champion. Lounging in a large, red leather chair, the blues prodigy continues. “Taking care of your business is one thing you’ve gotta do man, cause if you don’t take care of your business, you’re lost and washed to the side.”

The youngest of 28 children, Grady isn’t the only Champion who’s been taking care of business.

“There’s a whole lot of us, which means a big, big family reunion,” Grady says. “In that case, you can’t do nothin’ but sing the blues.”

For Champion, singing the blues was a way of life growing up. Regularly attending church and singing in the church choir, gospel and blues music were sewn into his musical fabric.

“I always listened to music with my mom,” Champion reminisces. “My mom was always into blues, gospel and country, so we always ended up listening to it and singing it in the choir and stuff like that.”

Growing up, Champion always knew he was destined for a career in entertainment, but he was not exactly sure where. Dabbling in rap, gospel and blues music, Champion also had a passion for acting and a desire to write.

In first grade, Champion’s instrumental endeavors began.

“I always wanted to play instruments ever since I was small,” he says. “In first grade, I wanted to play piano, so I took lessons. In fifth grade, I made the band to play trumpet. But my older brother also made the band, so my mom bought him a trombone instead.”

Through elementary and high school, Champion’s instrumental interests took second place to his vocal talents. Producing the album all by himself, Champion released a rap record paying homage to his blues and rap influences.

It was at the McDonald Music Festival in Miami that Champion’s musical career took a surprising turn.

“I was getting back to the roots and rapping at the same time,” Champion says. “I came up runner up, and the lady who sponsored the thing told me, ‘You have a raspy voice. Why don’t you try singin’ the blues instead of rappin’ the blue?’ So, I went to the University of Miami and took vocal training for about nine months.”

Champion returned to the contest a year later a blues man, singing original material.

“I came back and entered the contest again. This time Queen Latifah was the host of it,” Champion says. “There was one winner from each category that got to go on and represent that category, and I ended up representing the blues category. We played a concert, and I was representing the blues in front of about 10,000 people. It was incredible.”

At age 24, Champion began teaching himself to play instruments in an attempt to mature his songwriting process. Starting with the harmonica, which is now the only instrument Champion plays at shows, he taught himself the basic instruments needed for writing blues songs.

“I’m all self-taught, but still got a lot of learnin’ to do. A lot of learnin’,” Champion says.

Champion’s first album, “Goin’ Back Home,” was a showcase of his songwriting talent. Similar to his high school hip-hop project, the entire album was self-produced. The majority of “Going Back Home” consisted of nothing but Champion and his acoustic guitar. The album kept true to Champion’s roots while containing mostly original content.

Champion attributes the suprising success of his live shosw to his songlist of mostly originals with a few covers.

“The response of our live show been unbelievable,” Champion says. “People like to hear that old blues stuff. But my shows consist of about 80 percent original material, and that’s what makes it so surprising that we get that kind of response. We’ve got a couple of traditional songs to keep it true, too.”

Also adding to Champion’s live show is the addition of a band.

Teaming up with some of his musical friends from Miami, Champion has been touring with a guitarist, bassist and a drummer.

“We’re doing well,” Champion says. “On the album, we’ve got keyboards and all of that other stuff. On tour we’ve just got guitar, bass, drums and then me on vocals and harmonica.

“We’ve been coming across really good to crowds. We played in Chicago on a Tuesday night last week, and they went crazy. So far, so good.”

A group of hired musicians also joined Champion in the recording of his second album, “Payin’ For My Sins.”

“I brought in a lot of big-shot musicians,” Champion says. “We had guys who had played with some really respected guys, like Miles Davis.

“It was like a family affair. We spent two weeks out in Burbank, Calif. hangin’ out with the guys. They’re out drivin’ around in their sports car,s and you’re just wishing you could get a car. It was cool; I enjoyed it a lot,” he says.

Champion is currently on his first national tour in support of “Payin’ For My Sins.” Accustomed to playing only a few shows a year, four shows a week has been adjustment for the young blues man.

“We’re playing somethin’ like 17 shows in October,” Champion says. “You’re constantly going from one city to the next, so it takes some time to get used to.

“I went from doing five or 10 shows a year, and now I’m already at almost 50 shows, and I just started touring in July. It’s a lot of work, but I enjoy it.”

With such a hectic touring schedule entertaining the people, Champion still hasn’t forgotten about taking care of business.

“I enjoy going on the road and waking up in hotels, but only because I keep my computer with me,” he says. “So, I’ll go online and take care of my business and things like that. I’ve got no complaints.”