Rise 24 sat with rapper Lecrae who just released his mixtape Church Clothes, to discuss his working relationships with 9th Wonder, and Boi1da, similarities with Kendrick Lamar, Jeremy Lin, and Tebow, plus many more topics.
By: CL (@therealcl24) Carl Lamarre
Rise24: With this being your first mixtape, talk about the approach you took considering the process of making a mixtape is far different from constructing an album.
Lecrae: You know with the mixtape man, it was like; I wasn’t even trying to think about some big radio single or commercial song. I was like, “Lemme go straight Hip-Hop.” That’s really the perspective I had. I wanted to give them raw, uncut, no crazy A&R involvement or something like that. And then just grinding, straight grinding.
Rise24: I also seen for this project, you decided to have big time producers like 9th wonder, and Boi1da. How did those collaborations come about?
Lecrae: Those are my dudes. That’s one of the things that I’m fortunate to have, and that’s real relationships. It’s not just like, “Hey. Send me a beat.” You know what I’m saying? 9th {Wonder} is like a big brother. We definitely vibed, and are both advocates of putting some substance in the music, and the stuff that matters. And then, with Boi1da and I, we’ve known each other for a few years. So we definitely get it in every so often. You know, with his busy schedule, he was able to send me some music as well. So it’s home.
Rise24: Production wise, because you do Christian rap, would you say there’s a vast difference between the types of production you get in contrast to regular hip-hop records?
Lecrae: You know, what this mixtape is really aiming to do is close that divide because a lot of people see this as a Christian rap genre. I always in my mind been Hip-Hop. So, I never was like I’m a Christian rapper. I was always like I’m a Hip-Hop artist, but I’m a Christian. It’s the same way like how Lupe is a Hip-Hop artist, but he’s also a Muslim. So that’s how it always been in my mind. It was like, “Oh. How can I get a gospel sound mixed with some Hip-Hop?” That was never my thing. I think anybody who really was able to get familiar with my music was like, “Yo. This sounds like Hip-Hop,” until they would hear the stuff that I was talking about. Then it’s like, “Yo. It is Hip-Hop. So that was my aim.
Rise24: Is it hard trying to cater to two different demographics with that being Hip-Hop, and also the Christian community?
Lecrae: The thing I always loved about Hip-Hop is that it was authentic. I always say I’m authentic in Hip-Hop, but I’m also authentic in being a Christian. If you’re for real about yours, you could rhyme, and you respect the craft, they’ll be rocking with you. So I haven’t heard a problem with Hip-Hop really. They get it. The traditionally church had issues, but they’ve grown. Now it’s made up of individuals who look like me, dress like me, who are serious, don’t have all these earrings, and all this fluff. It’s like the world has collided and met. Man, it’s really been a beautiful thing. It’s been real authentic.
Rise24: You mention authenticity, and one rapper who happened to resembles that was in your video. That’s Kendrick Lamar. You guys would be considered polar opposites. What similarities do you think you two have that people may not know?
Lecrae: I think the similarity both of us have is that we are transparent artists. Kendrick is not a rap artist that is going to pretend that he’s something that he’s not. He’s going to be who he is. He may talk about things that go on in his environment but he’s going to be who Kendrick is, and not be like I have to put on a front for people to accept me. I’m the same one. I’m going to be who I am. I’m not going to front for people to like me. I’m gonna talk about what I believe matters. I think that’s what people respect, and that’s how we really connected. It was on some “You got some issues with this, and I got some issues with that”. Let’s talk about it. It was a good dialogue, good conversation.
Rise24: Have you ever encountered a point when rappers shied away from working with you because of the type of music you’ve made?
Lecrae: Not really. Most of my collaborations are based on relationships that were genuine, and respect. There’s a presupposition. That’s really what happens. A lot of people expect one thing more than other. A lot of people expect when they meet me that all I know about is The Mighty Clouds of Joy, and Mary Mary. But then, we’ll get to talking about Nas the whole day. It’s like “Whoa? How did you…?” It’s because this is who I am. Hip-Hop is the culture that I’m a part of, and brought up in. Christianity is my faith. It’s not the genre my music is in. It’s my faith that I believe in.
Rise24: If you were to choose one record in particular from your mixtape that would appeal to the mainstream audience, and appreciate you as Hip-Hop, what would that track be and why?
Lecrae: Probably Rise. It’s a record that I did with 9th wonder, because it kinda chronicles what it’s like to grow up in Hip-Hop. It talks about the pitfalls, the ups and downs, and some of the messages that have been handed to us through Hip-Hop. I think that would give people a picture like “Ok. I get it. I get where he’s coming from.” In the song, there’s a line where I said, “Where Biggie is still breathing//Nas is street dreamin’//Cash rules everything around me, creaming.//” When people here that, they’ll be like, “Oh. Ok he still knows about Hip-Hop.”
Rise24: If your kids grew up, and wanted to Hip-Hop, but in a raunchier explicit manner then you deliver it, would you be ok with that?
Lecrae: Well for me, the issue wouldn’t be the music. The issue would be their outlook on life, their hearts, and their perspective. That’s what I would wanna wrestle with, and deal with. I’m not gonna try to tell them to not put on earrings, and make that kind of music. If that’s who you are, and that’s where you heart is, of course you’re gonna make that type of music. It doesn’t mean it’s ok. It doesn’t mean that it’s good for you to rank, but I’m not surprised. So if my daughter is like “Her daddy doesn’t love her, she has daddy issues, and she doesn’t feel valuable, so thereby she’s a loose woman, of course she’s going to be making songs like that. My hope is that I could show her that she is valuable, that she’s loved, that she’s cared for, and that she doesn’t have to throw herself around. That’s the outlook. Hopefully that’ll be the outlook, and I won’t be shocked.
Rise24: You’ve had athletes like Tim Tebow, and Jeremy Lin, very open in showing their faith in god. How encouraging is it for you to see big name athletes praising god and their religion?
Lecrae: I respect them man because it’s a lot. You get ostracized a lot when you articulate your faith in the public eye. I respect them for just having the boldness to do that. Also man, its good weather for people like me because those dudes are in crazy environments where there’s a sense of tolerance for individuals who can demonstrate what they believe in in their field of work. Nobody calls Jeremy Lin or Tim Tebow Christian ballplayers. Nobody is like “Oh. He plays Christian basketball or he plays Christian football.” So in the same way, it’s good for me because it keeps people from saying “he’s a Christian rapper.” It’s now; he’s a rapper whose faith happens to be Christian.
