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"Lecrae may be one of Christian hip-hop\u2019s most vocal and visible rappers, but the beginnings of his story sound like a stereotype. \u201CI didn\u2019t have a father figure growing up, I don\u2019t know who my biological father is, I idolized gangs, so on and so forth,\u201D he says. \u201C[But] the end of my story isn\u2019t that I pulled myself up on my own boot straps, which is a lot of people\u2019s stories, or that it\u2019s just terrible for me. The end of my story is much different, and I try to invite people in that world.\u201D\r\n\r\nThose differences and similarities make Lecrae uniquely able to reach hip-hop culture. \u201CIf there was ever going to be somebody who was going to be a missionary in [hip-hop] culture, it would be somebody who knows it,\u201D he says. \u201CI\u2019m indigenous to it. I think it\u2019s effective because that\u2019s the way God designed it. Ultimately, Jesus came to earth as a human, as a Jewish man, speaks the Jewish language and impacts Jewish people, which leads us to today.\u201D \r\n\r\nUnderstanding that culture means Lecrae pays attention to multiple hip-hop scenes and listens to the biggest names in mainstream hip-hop\u2014even those that some of his fans might find too explicit. \u201CIt\u2019s definitely a freedom issue if you\u2019re a Christian,\u201D he says. \u201CThe way I look at it is, if you\u2019re an engineer, you\u2019re not only studying Christian engineering. You\u2019re studying the best engineers possible so you can be adept and approach your craft well, and I think of it the same way.\u201D\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nLecrae credits his appreciation of mainstream hip-hop for his ability to reach rap culture. \u201CThere are a lot of stories being told, there is a lot of stuff being communicated in those songs,\u201D he says. \u201CIf I\u2019m listening to that, I\u2019m hearing people\u2019s worldview, I\u2019m hearing their outlook on life and I\u2019m able to talk to those issues and really understand them. I think a lot of people, specifically Christians, can be condescending and speak in a patronizing way without understanding where people are coming from.\r\n\r\n\u201CTo this day, I\u2019m still passionate about creating music that is authentically hip-hop, but is [also] authentically Christian; we want people to walk away hearing a Christian worldview in the music.\u201D\r\n\r\nLecrae may have come from a tough background, but his different ending is changing lives."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/music/lecrae-0>