Grammy Award-winning Christian artist Lecrae recently spoke with ChurchLeaders regarding his 10th studio album, “Reconstruction.”
Lecrae said his intent with the album was to challenge skeptics and critics of the church by acknowledging the flaws within religious institutions while emphasizing the foundational truth of Jesus.
Like the album’s title suggests, Lecrae speaks honestly about his personal journey of deconstruction and reconstruction, where he reevaluated certain theological ideologies without discarding the gospel itself. Lecrae highlights the importance of authentic relationships and conversations, even with those outside the Christian community, as a means of living out the gospel.
ChurchLeaders asked Lecrae about his collaborations with secular artists TI and Killer Mike. Lecrae discussed the misconceptions about his mission-oriented approach, clarifying that his actions are driven by a desire to reach the world rather than to seek validation.
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“The hardest part of this [reconstruction] journey was having to wrestle with things that are true, but I could only hear the voice of leaders who did me so wrong,” Lecrae said. The “Coming in Hot” rapper shared that God was telling him, “I didn’t do that to you. The truth is still truth. You were hurt by people, not me. So don’t throw away my truth.”
Lecrae explained that he had to learn that God uses “broken voices” to bring healing and shared “that was hard.”
Being one of the most popular and successful Christian hip-hop artists, Lecrae is often criticized and mislabeled. “I think people think I’m very dangerous,” he said. “If you knew me in real life, I’m super conservative. It’s just that I’m mission oriented.”
Lecrae continued:
If you were to come to my house, like there’s prayer meetings and we’re doing dinner and I’m on my kids heads about certain things. I’m talking to my daughter about her clothing choices and what modesty means and talking to my son about what he’s listening to. Like, you know, I’m probably pretty conservative if you really were to see me. I’m fighting for us to be in church every Sunday, [and] I’m doing Bible studies at the table.
