Lecrae is undoubtedly the most commercially successful and currently most visible Christian rap artist (even though he doesn’t like to be called that). He has had a successful career with seemingly each album he releases performing better than its predecessor. His 2014 album “Anomaly” catapulted him into the mainstream and managed to top the US Billboard 200 chart. Thus far it has been certified gold by the RIAA for sales and streams equivalent to 500,000. All this was achieved under the independent label Reach Records of which he’s a co-owner. That’s why when it was announced last year that he had signed with Columbia Records people were surprised and many in the Christian community were very upset, some claiming that Lecrae has sold his soul to the devil (whatever that means).
But anyone who has followed Lecrae’s career trajectory thus far should not be surprised. His first few albums such as “Real Talk”, “After the Music Stops” and “Rebel” were very much centered on Christian doctrine the struggles of being a Christian, missions, etc. The sound was not quite polished yet, the quality of the mixing and mastering was not quite there yet, though it was rapidly improving.
By the time he was getting to his fourth and fifth studio albums “Rehab” and “Rehab: The Overdose” you could already hear the shift in his sound and slight changes in his subject matter which started to focus more and more on just life experience seen through the eyes of a Christian as opposed to the more doctrinal approach of his earlier work. The production became fully mature so much so that you could not differentiate it from records from his secular counterparts. This was a hug achievement because for the early part of its existence Christian rap was playing catch-up; often mimicking secular records and artists but never being at par in many of the technical aspects.
This focus on quality helped Lecrae (and Reach Records at large) to gain increasing success. The quality of Trip Lee, Tedashii, and Andy Mineo’s work, also Reach Records artists, helped them to also gain commercial success and rank amongst the highest selling rappers of the genre.
Lecrae’s sixth studio album “Gravity” furthered his commercial success, peaking at the number 3 position on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 150,000 copies at the time of publishing this article and earning him a Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album. By this time he had released the free “Church Clothes” mixtape which was another huge success, having been downloaded more than 250,000 times on DatPiff. By the time “Church Clothes” was being created Lecrae had formed relationships with notable people in music which resulted in collaboration with the likes of 9th Wonder, Boi 1-da, S1 and Don Cannon.
By this time many in the Christian community were livid because they didn’t want Lecrae working with secular artists. Claims of him selling out for fame were louder than before and many were nostalgic about “the time when Lecrae was a real Christian”. This goes back to his earlier work where he focused heavily on Christian doctrine, bible verses, etc. Many didn’t like the new approach.
His seventh studio album “Anomaly” has been his most successful to date as mentioned earlier and it also netted him another Grammy. This brings us to his eighth studio album “All Things Work Together” which was released on the 22nd of September 2017, making it less than a week old at the time of publishing this article. So the sales numbers are yet to be released. This is his first album under the major label system so many are curious whether it will help to increase his sales and streaming numbers.
While we wait for that the question still remains, has being on a major label changed Lecrae? Just as a pure fan I’d have to give a strong “no”. Lecrae just like any other person is a human being who’s constantly going through different phases and changes in life. His first album was released in 2004 when he was 25 years old. The soon-to-be 38 year old has obviously gone through changes in his life which are reflected in his music. If anything when you listen to his albums over the years they show a reflection of a man who’s going through various experiences in his life.
As is the case with all of us we don’t remain in the same frame of mind as we grow. Our thoughts change, our outlook on life changes, we mature in some areas and in others we stay the same. We make money, we lose money. We forge new relationships and we lose some relationships. Our relationship with God also changes as we grow in the faith. It’s absurd to believe that a man can for 13 years deliver the exact same album, with the same content.
Having given a quick listen to “All Things Work Together” I have to say that the heart and message of Lecrae’s music has not faltered. You can still hear the conviction in his voice, the topics he raps about are neither obscene nor anti-Christian, his production choices are still great, his music is still relatable and some may argue that it’s even more relatable now. He’s covering many socially-relevant topics such as police brutality, poverty, broken relationships, a feeling of hopelessness when going through fatal illness and other topics. His music still exudes faith, it has just been put in different wording and applied to real more life situations. For instance the song “I’ll Find You” is about trusting in God even when circumstances are dire. It is simply put into the practical situation of hopelessness during illness.
In short as far as the music is concerned the major label system hasn’t changed Lecrae’s message if we’re to analyze “All Things Work Together”. It will hopefully enable his message of positivity, faith and redemption to reach further than Reach Records could’ve taken it independently.
