1. Lecrae Devaughn Moore was born on October 9,1979 and is an American Christian rapper, singer-songwriter and dancer.
59 Facts About Lecrae
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Lecrae released his third mixtape, Church Clothes 3, his eighth album, All Things Work Together, and his collaborative album with American record producer Zaytoven, Let the Trap Say Amen.
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Lecrae left Columbia in early 2020, and released his tenth album, Restoration, in August of that year.
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Lecrae has co-founded three media entities: the record label Reach Records in 2004, the now-defunct non-profit organization ReachLife Ministries in 2007, and the film production studio 3 Strand Films in 2019.
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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.
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Lecrae's filmography includes a role in the television film A Cross to Bear and brief roles in the comedy film Believe Me, crime film Superfly, and Christian drama film Breakthrough.
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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.
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Lecrae was raised by his single mother in a poor neighborhood in southern Houston.
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Lecrae started stealing in high school and dealing drugs, using his grandmother's Bible as a lucky charm.
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Lecrae was arrested for possession of drugs, but the policeman who arrested him discovered his Bible and made him promise that, if he let Lecrae go, he would live according to biblical principles from now on.
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Lecrae dropped drugs but replaced them with alcohol and partying.
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Lecrae received a scholarship to study theater at the University of North Texas, and graduated with a Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences in 2002.
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Lecrae was amazed to see people like himself there, who liked the same books and music, but who were loving.
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Lecrae decided to live for God, but continued to make bad choices.
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Lecrae was touched by a clear presentation of the gospel by Pastor James White.
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Lecrae then asked forgiveness for his sins and claimed to have experienced a new birth.
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In 2004, five years after his conversion, Lecrae teamed up with Ben Washer to found Reach Records, and at the age of 25 he released his first album, Real Talk.
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In 2005, Lecrae co-founded the non-profit organization ReachLife Ministries, which equipped local Christian leaders with tools, media, curriculum, and conferences that were based on the teachings of the Bible and relevant to hip-hop culture.
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On February 5,2010, Lecrae released a charity single entitled "Far Away", a tribute to the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.
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Lecrae promised that all proceeds from the single's sales would go directly to the Haiti relief effort.
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Lecrae subsequently clarified on his Twitter account that the song was not a single from Rehab, but rather a theme song for Kanakuk Kamps, a chain of Christian camps for which he writes songs annually.
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On September 7,2011, Rapzilla announced that Lecrae would be featured on the BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher on October 11,2011.
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Lecrae gained popularity after his verse on the cypher trended nationwide on Twitter and was featured on AllHipHop.
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Lecrae then appeared as a feature on Statik Selektah's song "Live and Let Live" from his Population Control album.
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On February 16,2012, Rapzilla announced that Lecrae was preparing to release his first mixtape, Church Clothes.
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On May 3,2012, Lecrae premiered his music video for the title track of his Church Clothes mixtape online on XXL.
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On November 7,2013, Lecrae released his second mixtape, entitled Church Clothes Vol.
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On June 3,2014, Lecrae announced through social media that his seventh studio album would be titled Anomaly.
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Lecrae became the fifth artist following Chris Tomlin, TobyMac, LeAnn Rimes and Bob Carlisle to score a number one album on both Christian Albums and the Billboard 200.
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Anomaly marks the sixth time that Lecrae topped the Gospel Albums chart and the fifth time he topped the Christian Albums chart.
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Lecrae made a subsequent appearance the following year, on January 9,2015, this time as a featured performer.
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On January 15,2016, Lecrae released his third mixtape Church Clothes 3.
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In May 2016, Lecrae signed to Columbia Records, which will release future recordings in conjunction with Reach.
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Lecrae explained that he signed this deal in order to increase the international audience for Reach, since his label peaked nationally with the release of Anomaly.
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In September 2016, Reach Records announced Lecrae's upcoming tour schedule, The Destination Tour, which ran through October and November.
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On October 21,2016, Lecrae released the single "Can't Stop Me Now ", the lead single from his upcoming studio album.
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Lecrae followed this up with the third single "I'll Find You", featuring Tori Kelly, on June 8,2017.
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In May 2020, Lecrae left Columbia, and stated that this would give him more artistic freedom and control.
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On December 3,2021, Lecrae released No Church In a While, a ten-track collaboration album with 1K Phew.
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On his third release, Rebel, Lecrae slowed down his style on many songs.
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Lecrae considers Hill's song "Adam Lives in Theory" the top song that nourishes him spiritually.
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Theologically, Lecrae follows the Reformed tradition and is considered an influential figure in the New Calvinist movement.
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Lecrae cites Tommy Nelson, John MacArthur, and John Piper, among others, as early influences on his Christian faith, and Lecrae even titled one of his songs, "Don't Waste Your Life", after the book of the same name by Piper.
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Lecrae explains that through Nelson, MacArthur, and Piper, he subsequently discovered Charles Spurgeon, John Calvin, and Francis Schaeffer, the last of whom Lecrae calls his "personal hero".
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Lecrae created the theme song for a new ESPN SportsCenter block called "Coast to Coast".
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In 2011,116 Clique and ReachLife Ministries, both headed by Lecrae, launched a media campaign titled Man Up, intended to mentor male urban youths on fatherhood and biblical manhood.
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Lecrae, Wade, DuBois, Jay Z, and US President Barack Obama all made appearances in the campaign's promotional public service announcements.
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Lecrae has contributed op-ed articles to Billboard dealing with race relations in the United States, including the 2014 Ferguson unrest, 2015 Charleston church shooting, and 2016 shootings of Alton Stirling, Philando Castile, and five Dallas police officers.
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In mid 2016, Lecrae did a talk about racial reconciliation at Yale University, titled "Knowledge through Narrative: Bridging the Racial Divide in America".
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Lecrae spoke on hip hop culture at a Nashville TEDx conference, decrying the misogyny and violence rampant in much of hip hop's lyrics but advocating for hip hop to be used as an agent for social change.
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At the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards, Lecrae performed an original composition addressing racial injustice in the United States, referencing the shooting of Philando Castile.
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In March 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Lecrae worked with a local non-profit, Love Beyond Walls, to distribute hand-washing stations and food to homeless people in Atlanta.
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Lecrae wrote an essay for Billboard in which he discussed the need for humane behavior in the midst of widespread social panic due to the outbreak.
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Lecrae serves on the board of Peace Preparatory Academy in Atlanta, a nonprofit school dedicated to the care of those in their school and in their community.
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Lecrae has partnered with Oust Labs to be an investor and co-owner of the audio production software MXD, which was founded by Jacob "Biz" Morris.
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In 2020, Lecrae teamed up with Adam Thomason to found the film production studio 3 Strand Films.
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Lecrae is a venture partner in Collab Capital, and has participated in several real estate ventures, including Invest Atlanta and Peace Preparatory Academy, intended to revitalize English Avenue.
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On October 20,2016, Lecrae wrote in The Huffington Post that he has been struggling with depression and doubt, which was partly caused by the backlash he received from many American evangelicals who are critical of his public stance on race-related issues.
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Lecrae has won many music awards over the space of his career, including four Grammy Awards and twelve Dove Awards.