Restoration | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | August 21, 2020 | |||
Genre | Christian hip hop | |||
Label | Reach Records | |||
Producer |
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Lecrae chronology | ||||
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Singles from Restoration | ||||
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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".
Lecrae announced the album along with a new upcoming book,I Am Restored:How I Lost My Religion but Found My Faith,in February 2020. [1] [2] Lecrae subsequently left Columbia Records and returned to being a fully independent artist. [3]
During the several years prior to the album's release,Lecrae had struggled with clinical depression,anxiety,suicidal thoughts,and marital problems,and considered abandoning Christianity. [4] [5] [6] He attributes much of this to trauma he encountered in his childhood, [5] trauma which resurfaced when he started facing relentless criticism from many Christians. [7] After a trip to Israel with a group of Christian hip hop artists,including labelmate Andy Mineo as well as FLAME,Derek Minor,Canon,and Spechouse,which included the group being baptized in the Jordan River,Lecrae was restored in his faith. [7] He also went to therapy and repaired his relationship with his wife. [5]
On March 20,2020,Lecrae released the album's lead single "Set Me Free" featuring YK Osiris. [8] On June 24,2020,the second single "Deep End" was released. [9] On July 17,2020,the third single "Drown" featuring John Legend was released. [10]
Lecrae has stated that the theme of the album is about mending what is broken,both as an individual and in society,and finding holistic restoration and healing,particularly from God. [6] He told Forbes that "I think a lot of times we're looking for where that restoration can come from and we're missing the reality that we have the God-given ingenuity and the light in us to do the work that we want to see done in society and in the world. I believe that's possible. I've sat in therapist chairs. I've done meditation. I believe holistically we can be restored,regardless of our circumstances. That's the heartbeat of the album." [6] In an interview with The Christian Post ,he said that "God is more perfect than I am and there's nothing we can do to make Him love us more or less. There's no situation that we're in that He's not wanting to help us through." [5]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [11] |
American Songwriter | [12] |
Jesus Freak Hideout | [13] |
Neil Z. Yeung from AllMusic rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five and considered it the best album of Lecrae's career. [11] Scott Fryberger of Jesus Freak Hideout gave the album 4 stars out of 5,praising the theme,sound and lyrics of the album. He also praised Lecrae for his vulnerability on the album by saying "Lecrae's journey through hell and back is inspirational and relatable,and the music it's paired with is some of his best work in years". [13] Tess Schoonhoven of American Songwriter rated the album 4.5 out of 5. They were of the opinion that the feature credits on Restoration rendered it more multi-dimensional than 2018's Let the Trap Say Amen ,and remarked that it "sheds a surprising and approachable light into the niche genre [of Christian hip hop]". [12]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Restore Me" |
|
| 1:17 |
2. | "Set Me Free" (featuring YK Osiris) |
| GAWVI | 2:58 |
3. | "Wheels Up" (featuring Marc E. Bassy) |
|
| 4:04 |
4. | "Over the Top" |
| 30 Roc | 3:12 |
5. | "Self Discovery" |
|
| 2:28 |
6. | "Deep End" |
| Anthony Gardner | 2:41 |
7. | "Drown" (featuring John Legend) |
|
| 3:21 |
8. | "Saturday Night" (featuring Jozzy) |
| Oshi | 2:08 |
9. | "Sunday Morning" (featuring Kirk Franklin) |
|
| 4:02 |
10. | "Zombie" |
|
| 2:32 |
11. | "Keep Going" |
|
| 2:28 |
12. | "Still" (featuring DaniLeigh) |
|
| 2:56 |
13. | "Only Human" (featuring BJ the Chicago Kid) |
|
| 3:49 |
14. | "Nothing Left to Hide" (featuring Gwen Bunn) |
|
| 3:37 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
15. | "10 Toes" |
|
| 3:09 |
16. | "Rich and Famous" (featuring WHATUPURG & Ty Brasel) |
|
| 3:26 |
17. | "Come Thru Jesus" |
|
| 2:09 |
18. | "Deep End (Remix)" (featuring Rapsody) |
| MrWriteNow | 2:39 |
19. | "Restored" (featuring 1K Phew, Wande, Hulvey) |
|
| 4:37 |
20. | "Celebrate More" (116 featuring Lecrae, Andy Mineo & Hulvey) |
|
| 3:11 |
Total length: | 1:00:37 |
Sample credits
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Christian & Gospel Albums (OCC) [14] | 5 |
US Billboard 200 [15] | 69 |
US Christian Albums (Billboard) [16] | 1 |
US Independent Albums (Billboard) [17] | 13 |
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [18] | 39 |
Lecrae Devaughn Moore is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur. To date, Moore 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.
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."
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.
"Coming in Hot" is a song by American rappers Lecrae and Andy Mineo. It was originally released as a standalone track and was later included on the Reach Records collaborative album Summer Eighteen..It was produced by record producer and record executive Sak Pase. It was certified RIAA Digital Gold in August 2021, and Digital Platinum in 2023. It also became a viral song on social networks and was used by personalities like Kim Kardashian and Will Smith. It charted on Billboard's Triller US chart and Triller's Global Chart three years after its release.
Church Clothes is the first mixtape by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released for free on May 10, 2012, and hosted by DJ Don Cannon. It featured No Malice of Clipse on the song "Darkest Hour", and included production work by 9th Wonder, Boi-1da, S1 and Street Symphony. Label-mates Tedashii and Andy Mineo, as well as other fellow Christian hip-hop artists such as Dre Murray, Thi'sl, Swoope, Christon Gray, and Braille, also made appearances on the album. The mixtape was downloaded 100,000 times in 48 hours, and met with critical acclaim. It received controversy in Christian media upon its release due to its condemnation of hypocrisy in the Christian Church and Lecrae's collaboration with the mainstream producer Don Cannon. A shorter, remastered EP version was released on iTunes on June 25, 2012. The EP debuted at number 10 on the Billboard Christian Albums and Gospel Albums charts.
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 116 Clique.
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.
Heroes for Sale is the debut studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Andy Mineo, released on April 16, 2013. It follows up Mineo's 2011 mixtape Formerly Known. Considered one of the most anticipated Christian hip hop albums of 2013, Heroes for Sale includes features from Lecrae, Trip Lee, KB, Christon Gray, Krizz Kaliko, and for KING & COUNTRY among others. Three singles were released for the album, "AYO!" on January 28, 2013, "Bitter" on March 5, 2013, and "You Will" on April 2, 2013. A music video for "AYO!" came out on January 31, a three-part webseries was launched on February 6, and a documentary entitled "Everything Must Go" was released on April 9. Lyrically, Mineo based the album concept around the brokenness of human heroes, and the album has a very transparent and personal tone. Stylistically, it mixes electronic-influenced hip hop music with a variety of other genres, including hymns, reggaeton, jazz, R&B, heavy metal, classical, dubstep, second line, acid jazz, psychedelic funk, and jack swing. The album debuted at No. 11 on the Billboard 200, No. 4 on Top Rap Albums chart, No. 1 on the US Top Christian Albums and No. 2 on the UK Top Christianhart.
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.
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.
All Things Work Together is the eighth studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on September 22, 2017, through Reach Records and Columbia Records, also making it his first major label release. The album features appearances from Tori Kelly, Ty Dolla Sign, 1K Phew, Kierra Sheard, Taylor Hill, Aha Gazelle, Jawan Harris and Verse Simmonds.
Ireoluwa-Anike Dees, born Mutiat Yewande Isola, and professionally known as Anike, is a Nigerian American rapper, actress and former journalist and A&R administrator from Austin, Texas, United States. She signed to the Christian hip hop label Reach Records in 2019, where she had worked as an A&R administrator. Prior to that, as an independent artist, from 2013 through 2018 she released multiple singles and made numerous featured appearances on various songs, as well as worked as a music journalist. She is the first woman signed to Reach. Her debut extended play (EP), Exit, was released on April 24, 2020, followed by a mini-EP The Decision on December 4, 2020.
The discography of 116, formerly known as 116 Clique, a Christian hip hop collective originating from Dallas, Texas, consists of six studio albums, one of which was a remix album, one remixed extended play (EP), twenty singles, seven music videos, and one video album. The collective formed in 2005 under the auspices of Reach Records, and released its first album, The Compilation Album, that year on December 27. The following year, a remixed version of the album by DJ Primo was released on July 6. A third album, 13 Letters, followed on June 19, 2007, which charted at No. 10 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart and No. 29 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart, as well as the remix EP Amped on August 28. Man Up was released on September 27, 2011. A Christmas album, The Gift: A Christmas Compilation, was released on November 23, 2018, and charted at No. 27 on the Christian Albums chart. The Gift: Live Sessions, a live video album recorded at the 1971 studios in Atlanta, was released on November 28, 2019. The sixth album from the collective, Sin Vergüenza, a collaboration between Reach and No Apologies Music and a combination of continental United States hip hop and Latin American urbano, was released on October 23, 2020. All twelve tracks from the recording were released as singles.
Christopher Michael Hulvey, known professionally by his surname Hulvey, is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut studio album Christopher debuted and peaked at No.2 on the Billboard Top Christian Albums chart.
Church Clothes 4 is a 2022 mixtape from Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on November 4 through his own label Reach Records. It constitutes the final installment of his Church Clothes mixtape series begun in 2012. It includes featured appearances from Andy Mineo, PJ Morton, A.I. the Anomaly, Jon Keith, nobigdyl., WHATUPRG, and Jordan L’Oreal. Two singles were released from the mixtape — "Spread the Opps", on August 5, 2022, and "Fear Not", on October 26, 2022. A deluxe edition of the album, Church Clothes 4: Dry Clean Only, was released February 24, 2023.