Christian hip hop is a cross-genre of contemporary Christian music and hip hop music. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United States during the 1980s.
Lecrae Devaughn Moore is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, and actor. To date, he has released ten studio albums and three mixtapes as a solo artist, and has released three studio albums, a remix album, one EP, and numerous singles as the leader of the hip hop group 116 Clique.
Mason Durell Betha, better known by his mononym Mase, is an American rapper. Best known for his work with Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs' Bad Boy Records, he signed with the label in 1996 and quickly found mainstream recognition as Combs' hype man. He guest appeared on Combs' 1997 single "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, while his singles as a lead artist, "Feel So Good" and "What You Want" both peaked within the top ten of the chart. Released in October of that year, his debut studio album, Harlem World (1997) peaked atop the Billboard 200 chart, received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and spawned his third top ten single as a lead artist, "Lookin' at Me". Furthermore, his guest performances on labelmate the Notorious B.I.G.'s single "Mo Money Mo Problems" and Puff Daddy's "Been Around the World" peaked at numbers one and two on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively, that same year.
Rapzilla is a Christian hip hop online magazine. The website contains recent news, albums reviews, articles, interviews, music downloads, videos, release dates, and columns.
The 116, formerly 116 Clique, is an American Southern Christian hip hop collective originally from Dallas, Texas signed to the Atlanta-based Reach Records. The group performs a wide variety of contemporary hip hop styles, from chopped and screwed to trap to Latin hip hop. The 116 Clique is named after the Bible verse Romans 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile." For them it means acknowledging the power of the Gospel and the divine calling to proclaim it in every area of their life. "We can lay our lives down to serve and glorify God in everything we do."
William Lee Barefield III, better known by his stage name Trip Lee, is an American Christian rapper and singer. Signed to Reach Records, he has recorded both as a solo artist and as a founding member of the 116 Clique. Originally from Dallas, Texas, he served as a young adult pastor at Concord Church until 2021. His third album, Between Two Worlds (2010), was nominated for two Dove Awards and won the Stellar Award for Best Hip Hop Album in 2011.
The discography of Lecrae, an American Christian hip hop artist, consists of 11 studio albums, two of which were collaborative; four mixtapes; two extended plays, one of which was collaborative; 130 singles, including 75 as a featured performer; 73 music videos, including 37 as a featured performer; and 86 guest and other appearances. Lecrae debuted with Real Talk in 2004 through Reach Records; the album was re-issued the following year by Cross Movement Records. After the Music Stops followed in 2006 and his third solo album, Rebel, was released in 2008 and reached No. 1 on the Gospel chart, the first Christian hip hop album to do so. Rehab, his fourth solo album, was released in 2010 and reached No. 1 on the Gospel, Christian, and Independent charts, and garnered a nomination at the 53rd Grammy Awards. Rehab: The Overdose, was released on January 11, 2011, and peaked at No. 1 on the Christian and Gospel charts. Lecrae began garnering mainstream attention when he performed at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards Cypher and was featured on the Statik Selektah song "Live and Let Live" from his Population Control album.
Kevin Elijah Burgess, better known by his stage name KB, is an American Christian hip hop artist and music executive from St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the leader of the hip-hop group HGA. Burgess signed a solo artist contract with Reach Records in 2010. The label has released several projects, including the Who Is KB? mixtape in 2011, Weight & Glory, on July 17, 2012, 100 EP on March 4, 2014, Tomorrow We Live on April 21, 2015, and Today We Rebel on October 20, 2017. He is also a member of the label's collective formerly 116 clique shortened to 116.
Gravity is the sixth studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on September 4, 2012. The album features appearances from Big K.R.I.T., Mathai, Ashthon Jones, Sho Baraka and Mali Music, along with labelmates Trip Lee, Andy Mineo, Derek Minor, who was formerly known as PRo, and Tedashii. Producers on the album include DJ Khalil, Street Symphony along with his production team Heat Academy, and The Watchmen. The first single off the album, "I Know", was released on July 24, 2012, and was followed by "Tell the World" featuring Mali Music on August 15, 2012, and "Mayday" featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Ashthon Jones on August 30, 2012. Reach Records released five music videos for the album: "Lord Have Mercy", featuring Tedashii along with No Malice of Clipse, on August 1, 2012, "Tell the World", featuring Mali Music, on October 19, 2012, "Mayday", featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Ashthon Jones, on December 13, 2012, "Fakin'", featuring Thi'sl, on February 1, 2013, and "Confe$$ions", featuring David Banner, on April 30, 2013.
Andrew Aaron Mineo, is an American Christian hip hop artist, producer, music executive, and video director based in New York City. He is signed to Reach Records and his creative initiative Miner League. In addition to his solo work, he is a member of Reach Records' hip hop collective 116 Clique.
The discography of American Christian hip hop artist Andy Mineo, formerly known as C-Lite, consists of three studio albums, three mixtapes, one compilation album, twenty-one singles, including seven as a featured performer, fourteen music videos, including six as a featured artist, and fifteen guest appearances on various albums. Originally from Syracuse, Mineo initially achieved success as a producer in Upstate New York, and was a member of the hip hop group Fat Camp, signed to Syracuse University's Marshall Street Records. After moving to New York City where he re-dedicated his life to Christ, he closed down his production studio and restarted his career. He released his first mixtape Sin is Wack Vol. 1 in 2009. After providing sung vocals for the song "Background" by Lecrae from the album Rehab, he experienced a surge in popularity and became highly sought after for collaborations. His 2011 single "In My City" featuring Efrain from Doubledge also garnered attention, as did his appearance on the song "Reverse" by Tedashii from Blacklight. He signed to Reach Records in 2011 and dropped his stage name "C-Lite" in favor of his legal name. Under this name he released another mixtape, Formerly Known, in 2011. In May 2012 he debuted a four episode web series entitled Saturday Morning Car-Tunez in which he remixed classic hip hop songs. The four songs were subsequently released for free as a compilation album. His debut full-length studio album, Heroes for Sale, was released April 2013.
Derek Laurence Johnson Jr., better known by his stage name Derek Minor and former stage name PRo, is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, actor, and screenwriter. He co-founded the hip-hop record label Reflection Music Group (RMG) with Doc Watson, and signed to Reach Records in a joint venture between the two labels in 2011. In 2012, Johnson announced that he had changed his stage name from Pro to Derek Minor. In 2014, he announced that as his two-album contract with Reach was complete, he would no longer be publishing releases through that label.
Reach Records is an American independent record label specializing in Christian hip hop. The label was founded in 2004 by Ben Washer and the hip-hop artist Lecrae. In addition to Lecrae, the Reach Records roster contains artists like Tedashii, Trip Lee, Andy Mineo, 1K Phew, WHATUPRG, Anike, Hulvey, Limoblaze, and Jackie Hill Perry. The hip-hop collective 116 operates under the label and consists primarily of the label's solo acts. The artists Sho Baraka, Derek Minor, Aha Gazelle, KB, and Gawvi were formerly signed to the label, and DJ Official was under the label until his death.
Hostyle Gospel is an American Christian hip hop group from Champaign, Illinois. Its members include Demetrius Morton, Raynard Glass (Proverb), and Fontaine Pizza. Hostyle Gospel is best known for their aggressive Christian rap style. The group is also known for creating their own sound called Christian battle music, which also can be referred to as Christian war music or The Hostyle Gospel sound.
Nelson J. Chu, known professionally as DJ Official, was an American Christian hip hop DJ, record producer and songwriter. He was a member of the Christian hip hop collectives 116 Clique and The Cross Movement.
Natalie Lauren Sims, also known by her stage name Natalie Lauren and former stage name Suzy Rock, is a musician, songwriter, graphic designer, visual artist, writer, and music executive from Tulsa, Oklahoma. As a solo artist she performs within the Christian hip hop and R&B genres, having released a studio album, eight singles, three extended plays, a mixtape, and a live extended play as well as being featured on numerous songs by other artists. She also is a member of High Society Collective – along with Sho Baraka, Swoope, and J.R. – which released a studio album, Circa MMXI: The Collective, in 2012. She released her first studio album, Handle with Care, in 2020 through Rostrum Records. Five singles were released for the album: "Meditate" in 2019, and "Something Something", "Just Breathe", "Back to Love", and "Bra Off" in 2020. A live EP of the same title was released in 2024.
The discography of Natalie Lauren, formerly known as Suzy Rock, an American Christian hip hop and R&B artist, consists of a studio album; seventeen singles, including seven as a featured performer; three extended plays; a mixtape; four music videos; and twenty-one other guest appearances, including frequent collaborations with Lecrae, KB, Swoope, and Sho Baraka.
Jacob Cardec, artistically known as Cardec Drums, is a Puerto Rican drummer, music producer and songwriter, specializing in Christian urban music who has worked with artists from Reach Records, Reflection Music Group and Funkytown Music. He has received various awards for his work with KB, Lecrae, Redimi2, Almighty and Andy Mineo.
