THE COOL CHRISTIAN
acris lives in Atlanta,” Lecrae said
at the Christian leader conference last fall. “And because T.I.
lives in Atlanta, and because Lil
Wayne comes to Atlanta to hang
out all the time, and because Rick
Ross’ engineers are in Atlanta. I
live in Atlanta because I’m from
that world, and I can engage that
world, and I can go to these studios, and I can have conversations, and I can wrestle with
things back and forth with them.”
“If I was scared that that would
somehow jump on me and corrupt what I’m doing, I’m rendered
ineffective,” he said. “They would
never hear the truths that God has
invested in me.”
Lecrae has befriended Kendrick
Lamar, who in the past year has
become the hottest name in rap.
“I’m on the phone with [him]
on a consistent basis just talking
through life issues,” Lecrae said at
the Creation Festival.
Esmond, Lecrae’s producer,
said that in the times he has seen
Kendrick and Lecrae hang out, it’s
clear that “Lecrae ain’t trying to
get nothing from Kendrick.”
“He ain’t pressing to do no song
with him. He ain’t trying to go on
tour with him … Kendrick recognizes that,” Esmond said. “[Lec-
HUFFINGTON
03.09.14
rae] is more concerned with being
a real friend to Kendrick.”
Lecrae told me in a recent
phone call that he looks to Bob
Marley, the famous reggae artist,
for inspiration.
“We talk about being revolutionary and about Bob Marley and
the level of his influence and what
that looks like as a musician,” he
said. “And it wasn’t just done by
saying great things over mediocre
music. It was done by saying great
things over great music.”
Nonetheless, when Lecrae sat in
his tour bus at the Creation Festival
last summer talking about his critics, it was clear the pressure from
both sides had worn him down.
“The most stressful part is
coming from the Christian side.
Because everybody has a standard
and a conviction that they believe
you need to be living by,” he said.
“On my worst days, I ask myself,
‘Am I everything these Christians
say I am? Am I the hypocrite, am
I falling off? Am I too concerned
with all this stuff? Am I even making a difference with this music?’”
he said.
“On my best days,” he continued,
“I’m like, ‘I am exactly where I’m
supposed to be, and this is
exactly what I was built for.’”
Jon Ward is a senior political reporter
at The Huffington Post.