Lecrae

Lecrae
Lecrae in 2014
Born
Lecrae Devaughn Moore

(1979-10-09) October 9, 1979 (age 45)
Houston, Texas, U.S.
EducationMiddle Tennessee State University
Alma materUniversity of North Texas (BAS)[1]
Occupations
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • producer
  • record executive
  • actor
Years active2004–present
SpouseDarragh Moore
Children3
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Labels
Member of
Websitelecrae.com

Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979) is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, and actor. To date, he has released ten studio albums and three mixtapes as a solo artist, and has released three studio albums, a remix album, one EP, and numerous singles as the leader of the hip hop group 116 Clique.

He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the independent record label Reach Records, was the co-founder and president of the now-defunct non-profit organization ReachLife Ministries, is an investor and co-owner of the audio production software MXD, and is a co-founder of the film production studio 3 Strand Films. He produced much of his earlier material along with other early Reach Records releases. Lecrae, in reference to him being labeled as a Christian rapper, has stated that his music is just hip hop, though it reflects his Christian faith. In May 2016, Lecrae signed to Columbia Records in a joint deal between his label and Columbia. He left Columbia in May 2020.

Lecrae's debut recording, Real Talk, was released in 2004 through Reach Records. His third solo album, Rebel, released in 2008, became the first Christian hip-hop album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Gospel chart. Rehab followed in 2010, and Lecrae began attracting mainstream attention when he performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher and appeared on the Statik Selektah song "Live & Let Live" from Population Control. On May 10, 2012, Lecrae released his first mixtape, Church Clothes, which was hosted by Don Cannon.[2] Considered his breakthrough into mainstream hip hop, the mixtape was downloaded over 100,000 times in less than 48 hours. His sixth studio album, Gravity, came out on September 4, 2012, and has been called the most important album in Christian hip hop history by Rapzilla and Atlanta Daily World.[3][4] The album debuted as the best-selling album overall in the iTunes Store,[5] No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and won the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, marking the first time that a hip hop artist received this award. Lecrae released his seventh album, Anomaly, on September 9, 2014.[6] It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 88,587 copies sold through the first week,[7] the first album to top both the Billboard 200 and the Gospel chart simultaneously.[8] He released a third mixtape, Church Clothes 3, on January 15, 2016, an eighth studio album, All Things Work Together, on September 22, 2017, and a ninth studio album, Let the Trap Say Amen, a collaborative project with Zaytoven, on June 22, 2018. His tenth studio album, Restoration, was released on August 21, 2020.

Lecrae received nominations for Artist of the Year at the 43rd, 44th, 45th, and 46th GMA Dove Awards, the last of which he won, and for Best Gospel Artist at the 2013 and 2015 BET Awards, the latter of which he won, a first for a rap artist. Lecrae's filmography includes a role in the television film A Cross to Bear (2012) and brief roles in the comedy film Believe Me (2014), crime film Superfly (2018), and Christian drama film Breakthrough (2019). In the social sphere, Lecrae has presented on and written about racial tension and injustice in the United States as well as advocated for the preservation of responsibility and fatherhood values among men in the United States. In 2013 he partnered with Dwyane Wade and Joshua DuBois in the multimedia initiative This Is Fatherhood as part of the Obama administration's Fatherhood and Mentoring Initiative, and in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic worked with Love Beyond Walls to distribute hand-washing stations and food to homeless people in Atlanta.

  1. ^ "University of North Texas Alumnus "Lecrae" Wins Grammy for Best Gospel Album". February 11, 2013.
  2. ^ "EXCLUSIVE: Lecrae Announces Church Clothes Mixtape Hosted By Don Cannon". illHype. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
  3. ^ Goss, Armond (August 28, 2012). "Review – Lecrae 'Gravity'". Rapzilla. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
  4. ^ Rabouin, Dion (September 22, 2013). "Hip Hop's Savior? Atlanta's Newest Rap Star Lecrae Prepares to Put on His Church Clothes…Again". Atlanta Daily World. Interactive One. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  5. ^ Harris, Travis (Spring 2014). "Refocusing and Redefining Hip Hop: An Analysis of Lecrae's Contribution to Hip Hop". The Journal of Hip Hop Studies. 1 (1): 14. ProQuest 1513811093.
  6. ^ "iTunes Album page; Lecrae 'Anomaly'". Apple. September 2, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  7. ^ Tardio, Andres (September 17, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Lecrae, Jhene Aiko, Jeezy". HipHop DX. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  8. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (December 5, 2014). "Grammys 2015: Meet The Lesser-Known Nominees". Billboard. Retrieved December 6, 2014.