After over two years of silence, acclaimed rapper Lecrae has released his newest album, aptly titled “Restoration“. The album, containing tracks featuring popular artists John Legend and YK Osiris, has been met with wide success, garnering over 2 million YouTube views within mere days of being released.
What happened? What caused his music to take such an extraordinary shift?
Sexual abuse is one of the leading causes of crime in the United States. Second only to a lack of true fatherhood, the problem of sexual abuse is more than nationwide- it’s universal.
Lecrae is just one voice in a sea of many, yet his testimony rings true with many of us. Now a famous Christian rapper, singer, author, and speaker, Lecrae wrote on the subject of sexual abuse on multiple occasions.
Christian rap is completely underrated. It has been spit on, downtrodden, and hated for so long, it’s rather pathetic. I have seen this treatment come from all sides, including the Christians.
Why? What’s so bad about some Christian guys rapping?
In his popular song Good, Bad, Ugly, Lecrae did something unprecedented- he addressed the issue of physical abuse. He writes,
I remember back in the day
I was barely in the first grade
Got teeth mission’
Watchin’ Tom & Jerry
Tryna go outside so I can play
I was told to watch out for strangers
Keep my eyes peeled for danger
Folks workin’ late I had a baby sitter
I ain’t ’bout to sit here and name her
I was almost 8 when she came in late
Woke me up with a game to play
Did a few things that’s hard to say
And told me to keep that secret safe
Now how a young boy supposed to deal
I’m tryna act like it ain’t real
Had my innocence just stripped from me
And I still don’t know how to feel
And I wonder how to address it
Can’t tell my family too messy
So I just embrace it it’s hard to face it
I’m too ashamed to confess it
So I kept it in and ain’t speak
Didn’t think it hit me so deep
So into it I got promiscuous
And only God could help me get free
Good, Bad, Ugly by Lecrae
At a young age, Lecrae Devaughn Moore, popularly known as Lecrae, was sexually abused by a babysitter. Now, years later, he addresses this issue both in interviews, songs, and his popular book “Unashamed”. In it, he tells the story of his abuse, which later lead up to promiscuity at the age of fifteen.
This promiscuity continued into Lecrae’s college life, where he remained an unbeliever. Attempting to get a degree in the Arts, he later changed majors several times. Finally, after years of fighting God, he discovered Him.
We’ve already done the top 10 songs from NF, Lecrae, KB, and more. Now, there’s only one left: the top 10 best Christian rap songs of all time. If you have any suggestions, be sure to give them in the comment section below!
These songs were chosen on the basis of YouTube views, peak performance, level of trending, and gospel meaning. In a list dominated by 116 Clique members, a few smaller rappers managed to squeak in, including Flame and TobyMac. While not technically a Gospel rapper, NF is still a Christian rapper, and he has been added as such, regardless of how Wikipedia classifies him.
Aaand we’re back to another episode of the “Top 10 Ratings, by Elisha McFarland Africa Boy. I absolutely love Christian Rap, especially when it comes from NF (as we saw in Ep. 1 of “Top 10 Ratings”), Lecrae, or KB. As such, I want to post what I believe are Lecrae’s top 10 greatest songs.
10: Round of Applause. Awesome chorus. I used this in a video slideshow once.
9: Cry For You (feat. Taylor Hill). This song literally made a friend of mine cry. Raw emotion throughout the entire thing.
8: Broken (feat. Kari Jobe). Wonderful song with a wonderful singer. This gets in my head all the time.
7: River of Jordan (feat. Breyan Isaac). Wonderful chorus, and it was featured in the movie The Shack. This song is my dad’s favorite.
6: Rebel Intro. This song has an amazing take on being a Rebel.
5: Just Like You (feat. J. Paul). This song is so full of raw emotion, it’s almost scary. Lecrae compares his desire for an earthly father with his desire for God as his father.
4: Get Back Right. The top song in his new album, Let the Trap Say Amen, this song packs a serious punch with an even better beat.
3: All I Need is You. With a sweet music video and a catchy chorus, this song easily makes the top 5.
2: I’ll Find You (feat. Tori Kelly). Absolutely beautiful. No other words.
1: Don’t Waste Your Life (feat. Dwayne Tryumf). This rap easily bests every other Lecrae song. He rhymes like a maniac, and his chorus is SICK. If you haven’t heard this one, you should definitely check it out.