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.
Jonah Kirsten Sorrentino, better known by his stage name KJ-52, is a Christian rapper from Tampa, Florida. The "KJ" part of his name refers to his old rap alias, "King J. Mac," a name which he later described in one of his podcasts as "horribly cheesy." "52", which is pronounced "five two", not "fifty-two", is a reference to the Biblical story of Jesus feeding the multitude with five loaves and two fish, which is also sung about in his song "Push Up" from The Yearbook and in the "KJ Five Two" on It's Pronounced Five Two. He was awarded the Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year for "Never Look Away" and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the GMA Dove Awards of 2007. On July 28, 2009, KJ-52 released "End of My Rope", which is the first single for his album Five-Two Television.
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.
After the Music Stops is the second studio album released by Christian rap artist Lecrae on September 24, 2006. The album received a Stellar Award nomination for "Rap/Hip-Hop/Gospel CD of the Year" and a Dove Award nomination for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year.
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.
Rebel is the third studio album by Christian rap artist, Lecrae. The album was released by Reach Records on September 30, 2008. The album was nominated in the best Rap/Hip-Hop Album category at the 40th Annual GMA Dove Awards but lost to Group 1 Crew's Ordinary Dreamers.
Torrance Esmond, better known by his stage name Street Symphony, is an American record producer and music executive from Memphis, Tennessee.
Mark Julian Felder, more commonly known as Bizzle, is an American Christian hip hop recording artist and entrepreneur.
Rehab is the fourth studio album by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae. It was released on September 28, 2010 on Reach Records. According to the Reach Records website, the album's "motto" is "The Christian life is an entrance into rehab." Centered on release and freedoms from inhibiting addictions and habits, Rehab is a highly conceptual album. Rehab is nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. The album was named the Best Album of 2010 in the "Best of 2010: Rapzilla.com's Staff Picks" awards, and Lecrae was also named Artist of the Year. The song "Background" and the album itself were nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year, respectively, at the 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards.
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.
The Cross Movement was a Christian hip hop group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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.
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.
Charles Dunlap is better known by his stagename Dunlap Exclusive. He is a Grammy, Stellar and 3x Dove award-winning music producer from Nashville, Tennessee who has worked with artists such as 2 Chainz, Lloyd, Jim Jones, TLC (group) Trina, Rick Ross and Lecrae.
Anomaly is the seventh studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on September 9, 2014, through Reach Records. The album features appearances from Crystal Nicole, Kari Jobe, and For King & Country, along with label-mate Andy Mineo. Anomaly met with a positive critical reception, and the song "Nuthin", released for streaming as a single on July 1, 2014, was nominated for the 2014 BET Hip Hop Awards in the best Impact Track category. The album also fared well commercially, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with over 88,000 copies sold. It also debuted at No. 1 on the Top Gospel Albums chart, marking the first time that any artist has ever topped both the 200 and Gospel charts. Anomaly won Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 2015 GMA Dove Awards, and Rap, Hip Hop Gospel CD of the Year at the 2015 Stellar Awards. Two songs earned a nomination for the 2015 Grammy Awards; "All I Need Is You" was nominated for Best Rap Performance, and "Messengers", featuring For King & Country, won Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.
Gabriel Alberto Azucena, who goes by the stage name GAWVI, is an American Christian hip hop artist and music producer, formerly for Reach Records. Born in the Bronx, New York, he has released three extended plays, five albums, and twenty-three singles including his songs; "In the Water" and "Late Nights."
Restoration is the ninth solo studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on August 21, 2020, through Reach Records. The album features appearances from YK Osiris, Marc E. Bassy, John Legend, Jozzy, Kirk Franklin, DaniLeigh, BJ the Chicago Kid and Gwen Bunn. A deluxe edition of the album, with six additional tracks, was released on November 13, 2020, which included additional guest appearances from Rapsody, Ty Brasel, as well as labelmates Andy Mineo, Hulvey, WHATUPRG, Wande and 1K Phew. The album peaked at No. 1 on the US Christian Albums chart and No. 5 on the UK Christian & Gospel Albums chart. It received universal critical acclaim. It also received a Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song nomination at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards for the song "Sunday Morning".
Samuel Onwubiko, known by his stage name Limoblaze is a Nigerian gospel singer-songwriter and rapper. He is well known for the hit song "Jireh " with Lecrae and Happi, a reworking of "Jireh" by Elevation Worship and Maverick City Music; the song made it to the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs of 2022, Official Charts No. 15, and won several other nominations including The Headies and The Stellar Awards.
