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Lecrae Tells Apple Music About Fusing Gospel & Hip Hop, Nipsey Hussle’s Influence And More

On the latest episode of The Message on Apple Music 1, Christian rapper Lecrae joins Ebro Darden to share his message of kingdom and community building. He also discusses Kanye West’s journey and embrace of gospel music, fusing gospel and hip hop, being influenced by the late Nipsey Hussle, and more.

Lecrae Shares His Message With Apple Music…
My message, for me, it’s kingdom, man. And kingdom over empire. Even to get spiritual it’s like… Egypt was an empire where it was like, hey, it’s okay with enslaving people, but the kingdom is about unifying and bringing people together and making their lives better. And so right now it’s a lot of empirical views out here in society where it’s like, how can we step on people to marginalize the people who don’t get opportunities instead of having a kingdom mindset where everybody can share and grow. And I feel like that’s what God will ultimately want. So it was spiritual for me, but it’s social as well. So, for me, I’m like, man, how do I raise the level of consciousness out here for these marginalized communities and provide some opportunities for folks.

Lecrae Tells Apple Music About Kanye West’s Journey…
Man, I don’t even know where to begin with that one. So even on a music tip, I think Kanye is going to explore what he’s experiencing in his music. So that’s part of his struggle, you’re in a growth process and people are listening to you as you grow and as you struggle, so you don’t even have it all figured out, but you processing it on wax. Processing it in your music. So that’s going to come with some level of scrutiny. It’s going to come with some level of like pushback because you don’t have it all the way figure it out. And people listen to music and take that as a declaration. This is everything that it should be. And he’s done that in the past with certain statements, “slavery is a choice.” It’s like a declaration or putting on the red cap. Those are declarations. When the reality is he was on a journey, he was trying to figure stuff out. And I think that the downside of that is when you try to figure stuff out publicly, people take it as you don’t get the opportunity to grow and change publicly. That’s where you landed your plane. So privately everyone’s growing, everyone’s mind is changing, everyone is going through different waves. So I give him some measure of grace and some measure of like, yo, my man, I get it. You learning as you going and you trying to process it all. I think it’s hard for somebody like Kanye because he’s always heard, he got so many people telling him yes, yes, yes. He gets so much praise. It’d be hard to decipher when you’re wrong because so many people around you see you as right. So I welcome his journey. I would just tell folks, yo man, give him some space to make mistakes and give him some room to say the wrong things. And as long as he comes back and admits like, “I was bugging. Ah, I got that all wrong.” Because I know some of the folks who’ve been journeying with. I know some of the people. And some people he don’t rock with no more on the Christian side that he was rocking with, but he don’t rock with them no more. And I’m like, “good, I’m glad because they was all saying all that weird stuff.” But it takes a journey for people to get to where they’re going. And hopefully he’ll land the plane in a healthy place.

Lecrae Tells Apple Music About Embracing Gospel and Hip Hop…
…you got to remember, I came up in hip hop, I didn’t come up in the church. So I already had this perspective about Christians and gospel rap or whatever. And it was already so negative. So when I started doing it, I knew the perception I was going to have within hip hop. And I was like, “yo, let me just do my thing.” But over time I realized, man, it’s something I can embrace and not have to worry about what people say, because it’s like, look, it is what it is. And if the music is good, then you know what’s going on.

Lecrae Tells Apple Music About The Possibility of Dropping a Project in 2021…
Yeah. I mean, I’m working on some stuff, we’ll see. I’m working on some music, so we’ll see what happens. I mean, it’s very possible, but at the same time, I’m not going to rush nothing. I feel like I etched my place out here, so I’m just trying to stay consistent. It’s funny, some of the best advice I ever got was from this individual named Ebro years ago. I had put out this album Anomaly, it was the number one album in the country. It was the first of its kind to be number one on Billboard, on Independent Gospel, everything. And he was like, “yo man, don’t sit here, come right back and keep coming back with more music, a lot of cats get content, just putting out something and then they fall back.” It was like, “man, keep engaging the people.” And so man, I took that to heart and I’ve been trying to do that ever since.

Lecrae Tells Apple Music About His Activism and Being Inspired By The Late Nipsey Hussle…
I mean, being honest with you, man, I’ve been on my executive grind. So, I own my own label. We got nine artists. I’ve been working on getting their music going. I got moved heavy in real estate, move heavy and rebuilding the city out here in Atlanta, working with Killer Mike and Tip on some real estate stuff, and so that’s really kind of just trying to like boss up a little bit in some other areas and really contribute. Nipsey messed me up, I ain’t going to lie to you. It messed me up. Because I thought, man, this man a whole gang member and he changing his community, and I’m supposed to be the spiritually aware dude and what am I doing? So I got to give today.

Lecrae Tells Apple Music About Connecting With Morray…
Yeah, we connected online, but we ain’t met up in person. It’s all love. It’s the vibes he give off, obviously from that spiritual perspective, for sure. But it’s also his countenance, man. He just like… You can’t not like that dude. He got a countenance that’s about the people. He enjoys every moment. The energy that he bring with him is something that… We need more of that. And the innovation that he brings to music, he trying to do his own thing instead of doing what everybody else is doing. So man, what do you not like about this guy? He talented, his character, the way he carry himself. That whole vibe, that whole energy. And then we can wax philosophical, spiritual as well. Man, we need more of that.

Lecrae Tells Apple Music About His Real Estate Work in Atlanta…
So, years back I had the opportunity to help plan a school in the city, Peace Preparatory Academy … And we started with kindergarteners and now we up to the sixth grade. We just added a grade every year and it’s in the worst community. Wasn’t no schools in the community. And then on sides of it, I partnered with my folks at oaksATL to help erect some apartment complexes that are income-based, but they quality. So it looks like gentrification is taking place, but you have to make under a certain amount of money to live there. And so the community is like, “yo, these for us, what’s going on?” Yeah, absolutely. But then also you got to take a financial literacy class at the school in order to get into one of the buildings. So we teach financial literacy as well … But that’s what I’m doing. I go to the hood and I just resurrect stuff, build up stuff and then try to figure out a way to keep the community in those places so they don’t get pushed out or forced out. And that’s a lot of what we’re doing. There’s some business stuff too, some commercial stuff that we got going on. But it’s mostly residential because right now in Atlanta, all the gentrification is heavy.

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Andy Mineo Takes To The Streets For Reactions To “Been About It” Feat. Lecrae

Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop, a popular hip-hop phrase, has new meaning for Andy Mineo, who finally released his 4th studio album, Never Land II, on October 1st. On the eve of his album release, Andy got a call from his lawyers advising him not to drop, Never Land II, because legal had flagged one song, “Been About It,” ft Lecrae, for uncleared samples.

After 80 million streams from their viral hit, “Coming In Hot,” fans were looking forward to a follow-up project with Andy Mineo and Lecrae. With the momentum built, Mineo hit producer, Sak Pase, producer of “Coming In Hot,” for another banger.

After a year of so many industry deaths, Mineo and Lecrae wanted to celebrate hip-hop’s most iconic artists and the albums they created! “Been About It’ is our tribute to the culture,” shares Andy! “We’ve lost so many iconic hip-hop artists in the past few years and sadly, we wait until people die to give them their props! Lecrae and I recorded this song and a dope video to pay tribute to the artists who have impacted hip-hop and inspired us!”

Mineo premiered the video at the Atlanta listening session and media outlets, excited by the visuals, made their commitments of coverage. Reach Records had planned their entire roll-out and promotions for the album around the big reveal. “We were excited by the responses and then the calls started coming in,” shares Andy. “While my lawyers and label worked through clearance issues, my managers decided to slash the date for Return to Never Land Tour because of the pandemic. It almost seemed like Never Land II was doomed to remain in never land!”

To stay positive, Andy and his partner-in-rhyme, Lecrae, hit the vocal booth at Reach Studios and switched up their lyrics, recording a new version of the single. The day before the album release, they traversed the Atlanta Beltline, playing the Never Land II album for random people while capturing reactions to the original “Been About It” video!

“Yo, Man! Your video is video is fire!””Aw Snap that was dope! Why can’t you release that?””Can you put it on YouTube NOW?””Hip-hop needs this type of creativity!””You’re going to get 1 million IRL (in real life) views!”

So the fans have spoken, the label, and Reach team continue to get clearances on the video! In the meantime, check out their Atlanta Beltline and click here to stream the album!

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How I Dealt With Depression – Lecrae

It is National Suicide Prevention Week (September 5th-11th) and two-time Grammy Award-winning artist and New York Times best-selling author, LECRAE, shares that he too has suffered from crippling depression. In this riveting video posted on his YouTube channel, Lecrae, a survivor of sexual, verbal and physical abuse reveals that in 2018, he woke up after a night of binge drinking in a clinical depression.

He also shares how he dealt with deep wounds from his childhood and the journey that has led to his personal restoration! Please watch, share, and post these clips; they may resonate with someone.

If you’re at the “Deep End,” don’t “Drown!” There are people standing by to help you! Call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 800-273-8255. Remember that God has a plan and purpose for your life that is greater than your challenges!

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Lecrae To Host New Financial Web Series “Protect The Bag”

Grammy Award-winning recording artist, Lecrae, has partnered with Experian North America, a leading information services company, to present, “Protect The Bag,” a six-part web series, that provides viewers with a blueprint for building a financial legacy.

The video series produced by Lecrae’s production company, 3 Strand Films, premieres Fall 2021, and guides audiences through the ins and outs of financial health. Through short sketches and the help of some high-profile special guests, Lecrae will break down the basics of financial literacy and credit education to help viewers understand how to balance their financial needs of today, with those of tomorrow.

“I am on a mission to spread the word on financial education because I wasn’t educated about money and didn’t know about budgeting,” Lecrae explained. “I didn’t know to think about the cost of things or what to pay off first because I just didn’t have a strategy.” He believes that through his unique vision, partnered with Experian’s expertise, the message of financial health and inclusion will be embraced.

Each episode will cover a key point of building a financial legacy starting with understanding money and utilizing checking and savings accounts. Other topics include budgeting, saving, protecting one’s identity, debt, and investing.

This partnership is part of Experian’s United for Financial Health, a global financial recovery initiative that helps educate and empower vulnerable consumers around their finances and minority business owners around financial health. Under this program, Lecrae previously supported the Home Preservation Grant, an Experian partnership with the NAACP to provide mortgage relief to homeowners negatively impacted by COVID-19.

“Credit education isn’t always taught in homes and schools. In fact, a recent Experian survey shows almost one in three (30%) of young adults wish they learned how to build credit or improve their credit scores before entering adulthood,” said Wil Lewis, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer for Experian. “We’re excited to partner with Lecrae for ’Protect The Bag’ and see this as an innovative way to reach young consumers so they can start their financial health journey on the right foot.”

Protect The Bag will premiere on Lecrae’s YouTube channel and social media platforms. Learn more at www.lecrae.com or follow him on social media @Lecrae.

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Coming In Hot (Remix Pack) – Andy Mineo & Lecrae

Andy Mineo and Lecrae have been making headlines with their 2018 single “Coming In Hot” that has resurfaced and gone viral on social media resulting in the song making its Triller Chart debut last month. Now, the artists and their home label Reach Records, are unveiling four brand new renditions of the track produced by Jacob “Biz” Morris, Will K and globally celebrated DJ & producer Wuki.

ince January, the record has seen a  400% increase in day-over-day streams. In February it also began trending at #3 on Instagram Reels, and reached #1 on Reels last month. On its way to be RIAA certified Gold, “Coming In Hot” has sold over 450,000 units to date, without any radio or major label support, has been used on TikTok more than 51,000 times and featured on Instagram Reels over 200,000 times including reels by Kim KaradashianJordyn WoodsKristen BellCommon and more.  Additionally, since it was released in 2018, it was used to launch Will Smith’s inaugural TikTok channel, was selected by Steph Curry as theme song to his life and Lebron James and the Steelers has featured the song across social media. Fox Sports and ESPN MLB also highlighted the viral hit for various promotions, and it was also featured during the NFC Offence Video and 创造营2020 (CHUANG2020) (Chinese Girl Band Competition).”

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Ty Brasel – Paid For It (Remix) Feat. Lecrae & Melodie Wagner

Faith-based music powerhouse Ty Brasel debuts “Paid For It (Remix)” featuring Grammy Award-winner Lecrae and singer Melody Wagner, from Hillsong Young & Free.

“This is probably one of the most special songs I think I’ve had the chance to work on, because not only is the sound innovative but the message is so inspirational. It’s just one of those records that makes you feel good after you listen,” says Ty.

Ty aims to increase his momentum with this dynamic remix. Since releasing his third full-length album The Divine Storm last year, Ty has increased his overall listenership across all streaming platforms.

Amplified by infectious production, sharp animation, and vivid color schemes “Paid For It (Remix)” is a captivating hip-hop experience. The uplifting messages delivered by his collaborators (Lecrae, Melodie Wagner) breathes new life into the recording.

“Creating the remix to “Paid For It” has been one of the most amazing and rewarding experiences of my whole career. Lecrae and Melodie brought so much new life and energy to the song and they were also an absolute pleasure to work with behind the scenes as well,” he adds.

“Paid For It (Remix)” is available now to download or stream.

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Music Video : Blessed Up Remix – Wande Feat. Lecrae & Mike Todd

Its been two years since Reach Records introduced the world to the talents of Wande, where she also became the first female artist signed to the hip hop label. Fans were introduced to her heart and passion for her faith, writing and rapping with the release of “Blessed Up”, in which her freshman album EXIT and mini EP The Decision followed. Today, to celebrate this two-year landmark, the Nigerian born, Texas raised artist is dropping a brand new remix to her debut single Blessed Up featuring Lecrae and Mike Todd. The music video will premiere on Wande’s YouTube channel tonight at 7:30pm ET.

Along with bringing a new flavor to the song that marked her musical beginnings Reach and amidst the rise of racial injustice, Wande is looking to use this moment to bring awareness and generate support for black owned entrepreneurs and business’ in and around the Greater Atlanta Area.“With this new Blessed Up Remix, I wanted to create a video that would draw attention and celebrate some dope entrepreneurs within the black community,” says Wande. “I want to invite people to experience a bit more of what their day-to-day looks and feels like and witness the importance and beauty in my community.”

Within the last two years, Wande’s infectious personality and effortless raps have made a lasting impression on new listeners including former First Lady, Michelle Obama, who featured Wande on her podcast’ Vol. 1 playlist on Spotify. Wande’s song “Come My Way,” which features Nigerian artist Teni, was selected for campaign with ULTA that launched on SoundCloud’s platform and ESPN selected her music as ‘music of the month” three times, and her song “Be The Light” was also used in July 2020 on WNBA trailer. Most recently, Wande’s track “Woo” was recently chosen as the song for an Apple advertising campaign for the new iPhone 12 mini. The campaign launched on TikTok and was used on four Apple Ads and accumulated over 4.3 Billion cumulative views on the MakeItMini challenge.

This is just the beginning for the young female artist, fans can also catch her later this year starring in OWN’s new reality series “Young & Gospel”. The show follows the lives of four young gospel artists as they pursue their dreams and live life on their own terms while staying true to their faith and their families. These young women have formed an unconventional sisterhood filled with love, admiration, friendly competition and respect. Alongside Wande, the series also stars singers Koryn Hawthorne, Bri Babineaux and Jekalyn Carr. It is produced by Thinkfactory Media, an ITV America company. Adam Reed, Adam Freeman, Jordana Hochman, Phil Thornton and Jen McClure-Metz are executive producers.

Watch Video Below

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ANDY MINEO & LECRAE’S “COMING IN HOT” CATCHES FIRE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Andy Mineo and Lecrae’s “Coming In Hot” is catching fire on social media this week. The song has been trending at #2 on Instagram Reels for a month and has over 130K+ uses on IG Reels. With the song on its way to being RIAA certified Gold, Mineo recently responded to the virality of the song by posting a storytime video while announcing a gold plaque giveaway to the best UGC video and Lecrae recently recorded his own response.

In the last three weeks, the song has been used by Kim Kardashian, Jordyn Woods, Kristen Bell, Common, and more. Additionally, since it was released in 2018, it was used to launch Will Smith’s inaugural TikTok channel, was selected by Steph Curry as the theme song to his life and Lebron James and the Steelers has featured the song across social media. Fox Sports and ESPN MLB also highlighted the viral hit for various promotions, and it was also featured during the NFC Offence Video and CHUANG2020 (Chinese Girl Band Competition).
 
To date, the “Coming In Hot” has sold over 415,000 units, without any radio or major label support and has over 58 million lifetime streams since its release in 2018 when it debuted on Reach Records’ first summer playlist.
 
Watch the official music video for “Coming In Hot” below:For more information on Andy Mineo and Lecrae, please visit www.reachrecords.com.

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Hulvey – Reasons Ft. Lecrae & SVRCINA

Hulvey, from Reach Records, has dropped his highly-anticipated new single “Reasons” featuring his mentor and labelmate Grammy Award-winning rapper Lecrae and pop sensation SVRCINA. “Reasons” is impacting radio now and can be streamed and downloaded across all digital platforms.

The song communicates the authentic fears the Brunswick native felt about losing his grandfather, life after death and thoughts of eternity. The chorus, performed by SVRCINA, reminds listeners there are many reasons for people to keep on moving forward and to not give up. Lecrae jumps in on a verse communicating about the trials life throws at us from death, loss and trauma but we can find hope in Christ to push through.

Hulvey says he wrote “Reasons” to “remind people that even though we have lost so many things: friends, families, jobs, homes, even our minds, peace and hope is still here. God is still completely and willing to wrap you up anytime. He has paved a way for us to be free.”

Listen & Download Below

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For KING & COUNTRY tags Lecrae + Tony Williams For “Amen (Reborn)”

Four-time GRAMMY Award-winning for KING & COUNTRY released their brand-new single and lyric video for “Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae + The WRLDFMS Tony Williams],” a song about renaissance and renewal.

Following the three artists’ poignant and moving performance at the 2020 Dove Awards, for KING & COUNTRY went back to the studio and reworked the track from their GRAMMY winning album burn the ships to include emotive vocals from Tony Williams, and timely wordsmithing from Lecrae. “Amen (Reborn) [feat. Lecrae + The WRLDFMS Tony Williams]” is available now.

“‘Amen’ is a song of deep personal significance to us,” Luke Smallbone shared in a statement. “It represents a sort of death and new life, a rebirth if you will.”

Joel Smallbone adds, “When we performed it last autumn at an award show with Lecrae, Tony Williams, and a gospel choir, it launched the song into another stratosphere of meaning. So, with 2020 now in the rearview mirror, we look to move past these global hardships together and start fresh with a new perspective, which is the core essence of the song. And thanks to Lecrae’s galvanizing prayer of humility along with Tony’s characteristic and purposeful voice.”

Watch Lyrical Video Below

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