LECRAE Drops “Church Clothes 4”: Stream Here - Gospel Vibes
LECRAE Drops “Church Clothes 4”: Stream Here - Gospel Vibes
Before the Grammys, multi-platinum sales, and releasing the #1 Album on Billboard’s Top 200 Charts (Anomaly,2014), Reach Records’ president & co-founder, LECRAE, dropped arguably the most seminal project in his catalog, Church Clothes.
In the ten years since Church Clothes initially dropped, Lecrae has evolved from an artist into a New York Times best-selling author, investor, thought leader, entrepreneur, activist, financial educator, and philanthropist. Yet, his mission remains the same, to represent faith and hip-hop with an unashamed edge!
Today, he drops Church Clothes 4, the last in the mixtape series with 13 songs and features from Andy Mineo, WHATUPRG, nobigdyl, Jon Keith, A.I. The Anomaly, and Jordan L’Oreal.
Accompanying the release, Lecrae unwraps the official video for “Still in America,” the 4th track on the project.
In this final chapter of Church Clothes, Lecrae reveals that he’s “righteous but ratchet,” explaining, “I’m a child of hip-hop. I grew up with rap music, and God transitioned and transformed me when I became a believer! After that, people felt I didn’t belong in hip-hop anymore. The Church Clothes mixtape series helped them understand there’s a place for artists like me. If Wu-Tang can spit the 5 percent gems, Kendrick can talk Hebrew Israelites, and Ice Cube and Lupe can declare their Islamic faith, why is there no space for Christian hip-hop artists? So, the first Church Clothes (released in 2012) was about me getting mine off and spitting what’s in my heart.”
While he uses his talent to help people dive deeper into their faith, his love for hip-hop is not limited to Christian Hip-Hop. In the Church Clothes 4 skits, he states, ‘I love the trap and the church, E-40, and Jesus. You can add Tupac, Biggie, NWA, Lauryn Hill, Eazy-E, E-40, OutKast, and more to that list.” In the previous release of Andy Mineo’s single and video, “Been About It,” he and Mineo even pay homage to the artists mentioned above.
“People struggle with the concept of me being righteous and ratchet. I’ve created music with Zaytoven and connected and collaborated with secular artists like Ty Dolla $ign. You don’t get the righteous music that you appreciate, without the ratchet side of me. The ratchet side is what birthed it. If I weren’t sitting in my uncle’s car, listening to rap music in the hood, I wouldn’t have the skillset or heart I have now. If I didn’t come from the environment that shaped me, I wouldn’t be on the West Side of Atlanta helping to open Peace Preparatory Academy. You don’t get the righteous without the ratchet! I’m both at the same time. It’s the fusion!”