Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae recently teamed up with Prison Fellowship to bring hope to the women incarcerated at New York State Taconic Correctional Facility. During the event, Lecrae performed freestyle rap and shared some words of encouragement.
“I’m here because I care about you. I don’t see green jumpsuits. I don’t see numbers. I see incredible women,” Lecrae can be seen telling the women in a recap video posted to Instagram. “You know what I’m saying? I see incredible women. I see daughters, sisters and mothers out there.”
The rapper continued, “Because I was visiting prisons at 10 years old, going to see family members. So I wasn’t looking at numbers. I was looking at people I loved and cared about.”
“And people love and care about you right now. And if you can’t name them, well, you can name one. Because I’m right here,” he added.
Founded in 1976, Prison Fellowship “exists to serve all those affected by crime and incarceration and to see lives and communities restored in and out of prison—one transformed life at a time.”
The organization was founded by the late Chuck Colson, former White House counsel for Richard Nixon, after Colson served time in federal prison for his part in the Watergate scandal. During his seven months behind bars, Colson came to believe that God had placed him in prison for a purpose, and he pledged not to forsake those he left behind upon his release.
Today, Prison Fellowship is the nation’s largest Christian nonprofit serving incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people and their families. The organization also advocates for criminal justice reform.
During his freestyle rap at the event, Lecrae reflected on his youth and the mistakes he made along the way.
“In 2014, number one album worldwide / they said I beat Maroon 5de, I thought my crew lied,” he rapped. “I used to focus on being some kind of athlete / I brought back home the gold for the weight of me in the track meet / was smoking nix at night while they was watching Nickelodeon.”
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Lecrae continued, “Watch where you visit / the devil’s plan is oh so exquisite, all to distract me / the Lord’s still my shepherd, but now I guess I’m the black sheep.”
