Lecrae Devaughn Moore, popularly known by his stage name as Lecrae born October 9, 1979, is an American hip hop artist, celebrity, entrepreneur, and record producer. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the independent record label Reach Records, and the co-founder and president of the non-profit organization ReachLife Ministries. To date, he has released seven studio albums and two mixtapes as a solo artist, and has released three studio albums, a remix album, and one studio album as the leader of the rap group 116 Clique. He produced much of his earlier material along with other early Reach Records releases. His filmography includes appearances in the documentary Uprise Presents: Word from the Street, an autobiographical role in the Billy Graham short television film The Cross, a role in the television film A Cross to Bear, and a role in the upcoming comedy film Believe Me.
Years Active: 2004 – present
Genres: Christian Hip - Hop
Label: Cross Movement and Reach
Label: Cross Movement and Reach
From the southside of Houston to a leader in the movement of urban reform, a rocky road provides a window into the grace he experienced through out his life, with every situation molding him into the artist and leader that he is today.
Born and raised by his mother in a struggling community on the south side of Houston, Lecrae moved around to several places giving him the versatile background and cultural awareness he carries with him. San Diego, Denver, and Dallas have also once been home to him and the street life he once idolized and pursued. Along the way, like many in the inner city, he took to rapping as a way of communicating his mind. It wasn't until after high school that his hobby became a passion after his hip hop background was redeemed by Jesus Christ.
At 19 years old at the encouragement of a christian leader he attended a conference and heard James White delivering the message. In that moment, sitting in a chair, his world was flipped upside down as the Holy Spirit convicted him of his sin and need for a Savior. That day Lecrae was rescued by the Lord and began following after Christ. Almost instantly his renewed heart spilled over as he printed his testimony and passed it out enthusiastically all over his college campus at University of North Texas. The next 5 years included many struggles and victories before he teamed up to begin Reach Records, releasing his first album at the age of 25.
Calling Dallas home, Lecrae remained content using his gifts of speaking and rapping while volunteering at a juvenile detention center, but the Lord would have different plans and soon he began working on his debut "Real Talk". Pouring out a genuine discussion of life issues and passionate, unashamed pursuit of Jesus Christ, Real Talk was released to the world where he quickly became noted as an emcee that would meet listeners where they were by delivering transparent, relatable, and impacting messages.
As Lecrae continued to make his mark in the music industry, he realized the stage wasn't enough. He wanted to see deeper impact in urban culture. There needed to be a culturally relevant and biblically solid resource center to help train the next generation. Co-founding ReachLife Ministries in 2005, the non-profit organization exists to partner with organizations to equip local leaders with culturally relevant tools and media projects designed to strengthen communities with the word of God. ReachLife is another vital piece in the larger vision of seeing a reformation in urban culture.
Since formation, Lecrae has released the groundbreaking album After the Music Stops and the first Christian Rap CD to ever sit in the No. 1 position on Billboard's Top Gospel Charts, Rebel. Led by the classic single Jesus Musik, After the Music Stops slowly spread to the mainstream market with other hits such as Praying For You and Send Me. Aimed to build an audience of disciples, the album sat on Soundscan Christian Hip Hop/R&B chart for two years after releasing in 2006. While in the No. 3 position, Rebel released in 2008 and claimed the No. 3 position on the secular iTunes Rap chart.
When Lecrae released his seventh studio album, Anomaly, and made history! The album officially debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart as well as several other Billboard charts including, Digital Album, Rap Album, Christian Album and Gospel Album. For the first time in Billboard chart history, an artist occupied the No. 1 album spot on both the Gospel Albums and Billboard Top 200 list. And it’s only the fifth album ever to be on both the Christian Albums chart and the Billboard 200. Anomaly, isn’t the first No. 1 album for Lecrae: It’s actually his sixth. But unlike the past five albums, Anomaly branches out from the Gospel and Christian charts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
For the past few years, Lecrae has been the epitome of transcendence. What started as a practical approach to mentoring the youth population at a local juvenile detention center has led to a worldwide mission. As an artist, Lecrae has nearly reached the pinnacle of success. He's released seven bestselling albums and two mixtapes, won a Grammy award in the process and landed a global distribution deal with Red Distribution/Sony Music for the record label he co-owns, Reach Records. In 2010, Lecrae released the critically-acclaimed album Rehab. It debuted in the Top 20 on the coveted Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. By 2011, Lecrae released a follow-up album, Gravity, scoring the #1 pole position atop the Rap Album and Independent Album charts and debuting at #3 on the Billboard Top 200. He's since performed at the BET Hip Hop Awards, contributed to Statik Selektah's mixtape and collaborated with a litany of hip-hop veterans and producers. In between albums, Lecrae produced and released Church Clothes, his own mixtape, hosted by radio legend Don Cannon. It featured production by Boi-1da, 9th Wonder, S-1 and Street Symphony, an indication that Lecrae's positive message has been well received by his contemporaries. In fact, the mixtape earned a double platinum rating and debuted at #10 on iTunes.
As a result of his musical growth, Lecrae was invited to join the legendary touring hip-hop festival, "Rock the Bells Tour," in 2013. He united with a lineup of hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim and Common and fan favorites Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole and Juicy J. He then released, Church Clothes 2, the follow-up to his massively successful first mixtape. Again hosted by Don Cannon and executive produced by Street Symphony, it features collaborations with B.o.B., Houston native Paul Wall, Novel, Kevin Ross, Crystal Nicole, King Mez and label mates Derek Minor and Tedashii. Guest production courtesy of Grammy-award winning producers Boi-1da, David Banner, ThaInnaCircle, Dirty Rice and Tyshane round out the mixtape's collaborators.
Earlier this year 2015, Lecrae co-headlined the highest selling tour in the country, "Winter Jam." According to Pollstar, "Winter Jam" sold over 557,000 tickets making it the #1 tour in the country beating major tours by Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Disney on Ice and Elton John. Touring in front of a half million fans gives Lecrae quite the voice of a generation. But Lecrae didn't stop there.
Lecrae also finds time to mentor professional athletes. ESPN reported:
"It turns out that Lecrae, who specializes in Christian hip-hop and recently dropped his sixth studio album, "Gravity," is highly sought after by players around the league -- and even team chaplains -- for his prayer sessions. Lecrae either does them at the arena or stadium or the visiting team's hotel, typically starting two hours before the game and lasting 45 minutes. They're usually scheduled when Lecrae is in a certain city performing, or when there's a game featuring a team with whom he has a good relationship. Since initiating his chapel services last year, free of charge, he's developed relationships with Team USA men's basketball and the Kings and Timberwolves in the NBA; the Giants, Falcons and Buccaneers in the NFL; and the Yankees, Braves, White Sox and Diamondbacks in MLB."
Lecrae's personal friendships with athletes such as Jeremy Lin and Bubba Watson and many others is a testament to his philosophy and belief in positively influencing the influential.
Recently on the 14th of October 2015, Lecrae added three more Dove Awards to his name. Which are:
Artist of The Year
Rap/Hip Hop Song Of The Year – “All I Need Is You” .
Rap/Hip Hop Album Of The Year – “Anomaly”
A graduate of University of North Texas, Lecrae now resides in the inner city of Memphis, one of the nations most violent cities. A movement is brewing around the country with hungry, unashamed believers popping up in inner city communities everywhere. Lecrae is humbled to be a part of leading others towards Christ so that lives can be changed forever just like his changed years ago. With new avenues and strategic partnerships Lecrae prays that the impact from Reach will spread far beyond simply the music and into the lives of believers across the world.
For the past few years, Lecrae has been the epitome of transcendence. What started as a practical approach to mentoring the youth population at a local juvenile detention center has led to a worldwide mission. As an artist, Lecrae has nearly reached the pinnacle of success. He's released seven bestselling albums and two mixtapes, won a Grammy award in the process and landed a global distribution deal with Red Distribution/Sony Music for the record label he co-owns, Reach Records. In 2010, Lecrae released the critically-acclaimed album Rehab. It debuted in the Top 20 on the coveted Billboard Top 200 Album Chart. By 2011, Lecrae released a follow-up album, Gravity, scoring the #1 pole position atop the Rap Album and Independent Album charts and debuting at #3 on the Billboard Top 200. He's since performed at the BET Hip Hop Awards, contributed to Statik Selektah's mixtape and collaborated with a litany of hip-hop veterans and producers. In between albums, Lecrae produced and released Church Clothes, his own mixtape, hosted by radio legend Don Cannon. It featured production by Boi-1da, 9th Wonder, S-1 and Street Symphony, an indication that Lecrae's positive message has been well received by his contemporaries. In fact, the mixtape earned a double platinum rating and debuted at #10 on iTunes.
As a result of his musical growth, Lecrae was invited to join the legendary touring hip-hop festival, "Rock the Bells Tour," in 2013. He united with a lineup of hip-hop legends Wu-Tang Clan, Rakim and Common and fan favorites Kendrick Lamar, J.Cole and Juicy J. He then released, Church Clothes 2, the follow-up to his massively successful first mixtape. Again hosted by Don Cannon and executive produced by Street Symphony, it features collaborations with B.o.B., Houston native Paul Wall, Novel, Kevin Ross, Crystal Nicole, King Mez and label mates Derek Minor and Tedashii. Guest production courtesy of Grammy-award winning producers Boi-1da, David Banner, ThaInnaCircle, Dirty Rice and Tyshane round out the mixtape's collaborators.
Earlier this year 2015, Lecrae co-headlined the highest selling tour in the country, "Winter Jam." According to Pollstar, "Winter Jam" sold over 557,000 tickets making it the #1 tour in the country beating major tours by Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, Disney on Ice and Elton John. Touring in front of a half million fans gives Lecrae quite the voice of a generation. But Lecrae didn't stop there.
Lecrae also finds time to mentor professional athletes. ESPN reported:
"It turns out that Lecrae, who specializes in Christian hip-hop and recently dropped his sixth studio album, "Gravity," is highly sought after by players around the league -- and even team chaplains -- for his prayer sessions. Lecrae either does them at the arena or stadium or the visiting team's hotel, typically starting two hours before the game and lasting 45 minutes. They're usually scheduled when Lecrae is in a certain city performing, or when there's a game featuring a team with whom he has a good relationship. Since initiating his chapel services last year, free of charge, he's developed relationships with Team USA men's basketball and the Kings and Timberwolves in the NBA; the Giants, Falcons and Buccaneers in the NFL; and the Yankees, Braves, White Sox and Diamondbacks in MLB."
Lecrae's personal friendships with athletes such as Jeremy Lin and Bubba Watson and many others is a testament to his philosophy and belief in positively influencing the influential.
Recently on the 14th of October 2015, Lecrae added three more Dove Awards to his name. Which are:
Artist of The Year
Rap/Hip Hop Song Of The Year – “All I Need Is You” .
Rap/Hip Hop Album Of The Year – “Anomaly”
A graduate of University of North Texas, Lecrae now resides in the inner city of Memphis, one of the nations most violent cities. A movement is brewing around the country with hungry, unashamed believers popping up in inner city communities everywhere. Lecrae is humbled to be a part of leading others towards Christ so that lives can be changed forever just like his changed years ago. With new avenues and strategic partnerships Lecrae prays that the impact from Reach will spread far beyond simply the music and into the lives of believers across the world.
Currently on a nationwide tour titled for his album Anomaly, Lecrae is accomplishing his humble goal realized back when performing for juveniles at the detention center. It’s already been a long road for this hitmaker and yet in many ways, he’s just getting started.
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Lecrae is one of my favourite gospel rapper
ReplyDeleteI love this dude, great artist!
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