Lecrae at first look several years ago was just a rapper out of Houston mixing gospel and rap together to get peoples attentions. Years later and after three studio albums everything has changed for Lecrae. Appearing on BET”s The Cypher Lecrae held his own and surprised many with his own genre of hip hop and free styling. It was not long until Lecrae caught the attention of “Don Cannon” a producer who had produced a number of songs for artists like “50 Cent”,” Big Sean” and “Ludacris”. Don Cannon and Lecrae got to work on their mix tape called “Church Clothes”. ”Church Clothes” served as a teaser for Lecrae’s full album “Gravity”. With so much fame and pressure now surrounding Lecrae, many where eager to see what direction he might go. Let’s take a look at Lecrae’s new album Gravity and see if this album is going up or down as a result of all the fame and change Lecrae has gone through.
*I am happy to say Lecrae’s “Gravity” is an album of great magnitude. Lecrae has not sold out at all. He has found clearer and better ways to be himself. His message is that all rap does not need to be about drugs, murder and girls. His message is biblical but also humanitarian constantly causing me to like Lecrae more. This album is hopefully a game changer because I am absolutely tired of rap becoming worse and worse. With the likes of “Nicki Minaj” and “Tyga” Lecrae is a complete breath of fresh air. In Lecrae’s song “Fakin” he talks about how other rappers are “pump faking”. Basically calling out rappers for being *fake and material. I also like how he adds later in the song “we are not impressed”. A great line when pretty much all rappers do is brag. “Lord Have Mercy” has a great beat and feature from Tedashii. It has kind of a cheesy hook similar to “Mercy” by “Kanye” but it can be overlooked. Also another good one is “Power* Trip” featuring Pro, Sho Baraka and Andy Mineo. It feautures a super star cast and they all do a great job of contributing.
Later on I know that “Snoop Lion” is making a reggae album. Well he can take notes from Lecrae’s song “Violence”. Probably one of my favorite songs on the album it sounds like a reggae version of “amilli” and Lecrae absolutely kills it. *Also “Feugo” although a bonus track is worth talking about too. It features “KB” who can just always spit it fast, and “Suzy Rock” who just makes any hook amazing. My favorite line is when Lecrae says “ever see a boy not eat for days? It will make you want to change your ways”. Once again I love the humanitarian effort put in by Lecrae to his songs. ”No Regrets” features also one of my favorite lines by Lecrae when he says “your son will positively wake in paradise, life is like a pair of dice so watch the ones you are rolling with” There are tons of clever word plays that Lecrae puts in the entire album. The beats on the album keep stepping up and the production is better than ever for Lecrae.
This is a great album and I did not even get a chance to mention “Mayday” which features “Big K.R.I.T.(I have some thoughts on it but until I have heard it a few more times I will not say anything).However *I feel like Lecrae is the best independent rapper out there currently . He stays true to who he is and will never sell out to make more money. Few rappers can say that and I have felt lack of quality from independent artists like “Tech N9ne” and “Mack Miller”. Lecrae is getting better and better and maybe is just now figuring out his niche. Check out his new album “Gravity” in stores and on Itunes now.You will have “No Regrets” picking up this one haha.
