Lecrae on Music and the Church

Teresa Neumann : Sep 21, 2012
Grady Smith – Entertainment Weekly

"I don't feel the weight to put the whole Church on my back [as far as representing the Church to the world]. If you're looking for Lecrae to give you the full encompassed view of the faith, I think you're putting way too much pressure on a person. I think that's impossible. What I try to do is answer the questions. I don't try to hide anything." -Christian rapper, Lecrae

Rap artists sometimes find themselves getting a "bad rap" in Christian circles. Hip-hop artists who claim Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior often deal with the same stereotypes, myths and expectations.

Enter Christian rapper Lecrae, who was recently interviewed by Entertainment Weekly.

In the interview, Lecrae talks about how?though he believes there's some truth to it?he likes to dispel the pre-conceived notion that "Christian" music means inferior musicianship or sweetened lyrics. (Photo Credit: Zack Arias)

Essentially, he wants his music to speak to non-Christians as well as Christians. "Let's talk about topics that everybody needs to know about," he said, "That everybody needs to hear a good perspective on, versus just the Church. You know, there's topics like gun violence?all the murders that have happened in Chicago. Let's talk about the reality of violence that I think everybody can resonate with, but I may have a unique perspective . . . think that sometimes, the faith-based market is scared to talk about certain things."

When asked about endorsements he's received from Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin, big fans of his, Lecrae replied, "I cherish them because I think they're sincere. What people probably fail to think about when it comes to stars or professional athletes is that they're people and they need inspiration and they enjoy music and it resonates with them as people. So for them to give those endorsements, it's sincere. It really has nothing to do with me. I didn't even know [Lin] at the time he said that. It just was him being genuine. I typically know if someone said something if my Twitter starts blowing up."