Thursday 8 December 2011

Lecrae An Urban Missionary

 

Lecrae Moore (born October 9, 1979) is an American Christian Hip Hop artist signed to Reach Records, the record label that he co-founded. Thus far Lecrae has released five solo studio albums, and his latest Rehab: The Overdose was released on January 11, 2011. He is also a member of the rap group 116 Clique, with which he collaborates frequently.

Biography

Born and raised by his single mother in Southern Houston, Texas, Lecrae moved often in his early life living in San Diego, Denver, and Dallas. Moore discovered rapping as a musical outlet to help him convey his feelings to others. Christianity did not enter his life until after he had graduated from high school.[5]
When he was 19, a Christian leader encouraged him to attend a conference where he heard James G. White speak. Because of this, he became extremely passionate for Christianity. His strong religious conviction led him to print his testimony and pass it out across the University of North Texas campus. The next five years included many struggles and victories.
After graduating from the University of North Texas, Lecrae lived in Dallas. There he volunteered at a juvenile detention center and began working on his debut album. At the age of 25 he co-founded Reach Records, and released his first album, called Real Talk.
Lecrae co-founded ReachLife Ministries in 2005 to help reform urban culture. The non-profit organization exists to help equip local Christian leaders with tools and media projects that are culturally relevant and based on the teachings of the Bible.
Lecrae now resides in Atlanta, GA with his wife and children. He continues to rap, and frequently collaborates with the 116 Clique.

 Releases

Real Talk (2004-2005)

Real Talk was Lecrae's first studio album. It reached No. 29 in the category of gospel rap on Billboards.

After The Music Stops (2006–2007)

After the success of Real Talk, Lecrae released his second studio album on August 15, 2006. After the Music Stops charted at No. 5 On the Billboard Gospel Albums chart, No. 7 on the Billboard Christian albums chart and No. 16 on the Billboard Heatseeker album charts.[6] The album was nominated for a Dove award as was the single "Jesus Muzik".

Rebel (2008–2009)

On October 8, 2008, Lecrae's third album, Rebel, entered the Billboard charts at No. 60 with 9,800 units sold. It also ranked No. 3 on the iTunes rap downloads, and topped the Billboard Christian album charts for two weeks, the first rap album to do so. The album gained some of the highest praise for Christian Hip hop yet, for example, CCM website Jesus Freak Hideout said, "Musically, it's easily as good as (if not better than) anything you will hear on mainstream rap stations. Lyrically, there's no comparison. Lecrae's message is better, and better for you." The album has of April 2010 maintained a 78 week run on the Billboard Gospel charts. It has sold 125,000 as of July 7.[7]

Far Away and Rehab (2010)

On February 5, 2010 a new single was released called "Far Away". The song is a tribute to those in Haiti and their struggles and Lecrae has promised that all proceeds from the single's sales will go directly to the Haiti relief effort.[8] A music video was released for the song on February 10.[9] The single peaked at No. 32 on the iTunes Hip hop singles chart, the first Christian Hip hop song to do so.[9]
In January 2010, Lecrae confirmed that he was working on a new album due out on September 28, 2010. A possible album cover and October release dates were posted on Rapzilla.com in early July.[10] On July 7, in a blog post on the Reach Records website, Lecrae announced that the title of his new album is Rehab.[11] On August 5 a new song called "Amp It Up" was released via Rapzilla online.[12] However, Lecrae clarified on his Twitter account that the song is not a single off of Rehab, but rather a theme song that he wrote for camp Kanakuk which he writes theme songs for annually.[13][14] On August 31; the tracklisting for Rehab was revealed, the album became available for preorder, and a promotional video for the album called "Idols" was released.[15][16] The second promotional video, entitled "I Am Dust", was released on September 9.[17] Rehab debuted at No. 16 on Billboard 200 list, making it one of the highest selling Christian Rap/Hip Hop albums of all time. "Rehab" also became the top 5 album on the Best R&B&Hip Hop Album charts;shown in a October 2010 Issues of the magazine JET. It still maintains great success on the charts.

Rehab: The Overdose (2011)

On September 22, 2010, Rapzilla reported that the Rehab packaging came with an advertisement encouraging buyers to purchase another upcoming album, which was released on January 11, 2011, called Rehab: The Overdose. It includes 11 new songs, which featured several other Christian artists such as Thi'sl and Swoope.[18] The album was released as planned, peaking at No. 1 on iTunes and No. 1 on the Hip-Hop and Christian Hip-Hop chart before settling at the No. 4 position through its debut week.
On August 29, 2011, on his Twitter account, Lecrae officially set September 27, 2011 as the release date for the deluxe edition of Rehab, to be titled Rehab: Deluxe Edition, which includes five new songs and extensive DVD coverage.[citation needed] This is also the date on which the collaborative group 116 Clique, of which Lecrae is a part, will release their fourth album, titled Man Up.[citation needed]
Lecrae was also featured on Statik Selektah song "Live and Let live" from the Population Control which released October 24, 2011.[citation needed]

Discography

Main article: Lecrae discography

Awards and achievements

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