Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music, is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and stylistically rooted in Christian music. Originating in the United States, it was formed by those affected by the 1960s Jesus movement revival who began to express themselves in other styles of popular music, beyond the church music of hymns, gospel and Southern gospel music that was prevalent in the church at the time. Initially referred to as Jesus music, today, the term is typically used to refer to pop, but also includes rock, alternative rock, hip hop, metal, contemporary worship, punk, hardcore punk, Latin, electronic dance music, R&B-influenced gospel, and country styles.
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.
Contemporary worship music (CWM), also known as praise and worship music, is a defined genre of Christian music used in contemporary worship. It has developed over the past 60 years and is stylistically similar to pop music. The songs are frequently referred to as "praise songs" or "worship songs" and are typically led by a "worship band" or "praise team", with either a guitarist or pianist leading. It has become a common genre of music sung in many churches, particularly in charismatic or non-denominational Protestant churches with some Roman Catholic congregations incorporating it into the Mass as well.
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is among the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building, home to four English-language services and two Spanish-language services per week, is located at the former Compaq Center. Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church with his wife, Victoria, who serves as co-pastor.
Mario Mendell Winans is an American R&B singer, songwriter, and record producer from South Carolina. An extended member of the Winans musical family, he is best known for his 2004 single "I Don't Wanna Know", which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
Tha Carter is the fourth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne. It was released on June 29, 2004, by Cash Money Records and Universal Records. The production on the album was mostly handled by Cash Money's former in-house producer Mannie Fresh, before Mannie left the label. A chopped and screwed version of the album was also released in 2004. The album spawned four sequels: Tha Carter II, Tha Carter III, Tha Carter IV, and Tha Carter V.
Country rap is a fusion genre of popular music, blending country music with hip hop–style singing or rapping.
D4L was an American hip hop group formed in 2003, composed of Atlanta-based rappers Fabo, Mook-B, Stoney, and Shawty Lo. They are best known for their 2005 hit single "Laffy Taffy", which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 2006.
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.
Tony Stone is an American music producer and project developer for Christian hip hop artists. He has produced the music for hundreds of songs in the genre. He is currently the project manager for Reflection Music Group.
Mark Julian Felder, more commonly known as Bizzle, is an American Christian hip hop recording artist and entrepreneur.
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.
Chopper is a hip hop music subgenre that originated in the Midwestern United States and features fast-paced rhyming or rapping. Those that rap in the style are known as choppers, and rapping in the style is sometimes referred to as chopping. The style is one of the major forms of Midwest hip hop, though by the early 2000s, it had spread to other parts of the United States including California and New York City, and it has spread around the world since.
Church Clothes 2, officially Church Clothes, Vol. 2, is the second mixtape by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on November 7, 2013 by Reach Records. Hosted by Don Cannon, it follows Lecrae's previous mixtape, Church Clothes, and Grammy Award-winning full-length album Gravity, both of which came out in 2012. Two versions of the album were released, a free version with host Don Cannon, and a commercial version off iTunes without the DJ. The first single off the album, "Round of Applause", was released on May 14, 2013. On May 21, a remixed version of the song, featuring rapper B.o.B, was released. A second single off the album, "I'm Turnt", dropped on October 18, 2013. The mixtape was downloaded over 100,000 times on DatPiff.com in the first two weeks and debuted at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 chart, No. 1 on the Top Christian and Gospel charts, and No. 3 on the Top Rap chart.
Jason Christopher Watson, who goes by the stage name Json, is an American Christian hip hop musician. He was a member of Christian hip hop collective, 116 Clique.
Theophanies was the second album from hip hop duo Hazakim. The album was released on June 23, 2009, through Lamp Mode Recordings. Although Theophanies was Hazakim's second album, it was their first studio album to be released on a record label with national distribution. Theophanies helped to establish Hazakim's unique sound and approach to lyricism in the christian hip hop genre.
Keith & Kristyn Getty are a musical duo from Northern Ireland, focusing on hymns and other Christian music. They are best known for the 2001 hymn “In Christ Alone”, co-written with Stuart Townend.
"Selah" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King (2019). The song contains additional vocals from Ant Clemons, BongoByTheWay, and the Sunday Service Choir. West co-wrote it with 11 others, while Jeffrey LaValley received songwriting credit due to the song sampling a rendition of the New Jerusalem Choir's work. A hip hop and gospel song, it instrumentally relies on military drums. The song includes samples of the Sunday Service Choir's rendition of "Revelations 19:1". Lyrically, it sees West asserting his Christian faith and referencing Bible verses. The song had originally been slated for release on Yandhi in November 2018 until the album was scrapped, though it later leaked the following year.
"Follow God" is a song by American rapper Kanye West from his ninth studio album, Jesus Is King (2019). The song was produced by West, BoogzDaBeast and Xcelence. The producers wrote it alongside Aaron Butts, though the song's sampling of work by Whole Truth led to songwriting credits being listed for Calvin and Curtis Eubanks. It was playlisted to UK mainstream radio by the BBC as the album's lead single on November 8, 2019, through GOOD Music and Def Jam. Around the time of release, the song was the top performing track from Jesus Is King on streaming services. A religious hip hop track, it includes a sample of "Can You Lose by Following God" by Whole Truth, which is chopped up in certain sections. On February 6, 2021, a Dr. Dre Remix was leaked from the scrapped Jesus Is King II album.
"Drummer Boy" is a cover of Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone's Christmas song "The Little Drummer Boy" by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, featuring American rapper Busta Rhymes, from his second studio album and first Christmas release, Under the Mistletoe (2011). Leaked days before the album's November 1, 2011, date on October 28, "Drummer Boy" is an uptempo hip-hop techno club track where Bieber sings the original song's lyrics and melody while rapping about himself, poverty and charity. Contemporaneously, the track was met with polarization and confusion from professional critics, who perceived it as bizarre and silly and bastardizing the meaning of the original song.
