Christopher Williams’ return to music came after his life was forced to slow down in a way he never expected. In 2021, the singer suffered kidney failure, collapsed, and spent nearly a month in a coma. He lost more than 80 pounds, was temporarily paralyzed, and was told he might never walk, talk, or sing again. Recording new music wasn’t even a consideration. His focus was getting well enough to attend his son’s wedding. Everything else could wait.
Although unfortunate at the moment, this experience influenced “Good Enough,” Williams’ first new release in more than two decades and the lead single from his forthcoming album War and Peace, due next year. This, is the kind of record made by someone who understands how fast things can disappear. “I think there were really three factors,” Williams tells ESSENCE. “Timing, alignment, and that I just fell back in love with music.”
After Williams came out of the coma, hitting the stage wasn’t the first thing on his mind. The goal was simple: walk into Central Park and be present for his son’s wedding. He made it, though singing wasn’t an option yet, even when guests asked. It was his son who planted the first seed, asking if music was something he still wanted to return to. Opportunities arose slowly, then all at once. A guest spot with Tank in 2022 was followed by a call from D-Nice and Kenny Burns that brought him back to New York for a show at the Polo Grounds.
“It was like a lightning bolt,” Williams says of the performance. “That reception reminded me who I was.” He then began recording early material with producer Troy Taylor, including a song called “Woman of the Year,” and shared it with longtime friend and music executive Vincent Herbert, whose response was immediate, and it shifted the direction of the project. One conversation led to another, and eventually to “Good Enough,” replacing a different song Williams originally planned to release.
“I thought it was a little too saucy,” Williams admits, laughing. “But then I recorded it, and it was just fire.”
War and Peace came together the same way, which was organic. The title emerged after a studio conversation sparked a song that mirrored what Williams had been sitting with: relationships ending, the state of the world, and the constant pull between compassion and destruction.
Williams talks now like someone who isn’t chasing validation. Also, the recording industry looks nothing like it did during his Uptown Records era, but he appreciates the direct relationship artists can have with listeners now. “It’s really about the music and the work,” he says. “Now we have direct-to-consumer access. That’s powerful. But you still need the full picture. You can’t just be famous. You have to be respected.”
While putting together new music, the New York native put together an all-star team—from Vincent Herbert to Troy Taylor to collaborators like Jermaine Dupri and B. Cox, Williams feels supported in a way he hadn’t before. “This is the first time it feels like the music is chasing me instead of me chasing it,” he says. Additionally, his Front Porch Freestyle performance reached longtime fans and introduced his voice to a younger generation. Watching that bridge form has been surreal.
“It amazes me,” Williams says. “My son’s friends hit him up like, ‘Your pops is cool.’ I get cool points now.” As War and Peace takes shape and his City Winery tour continues, Williams isn’t chasing a moment or trying to rewrite history. He’s standing in the present. The voice that once soundtracked a generation hasn’t returned to prove anything. It’s back because it still has something to say.
“For me, success looks different now. Success is balance,” he says. “It’s happiness and life in alignment.”