Christian hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music characterized by a Christian worldview, with the general purposes of evangelization, edifying some members of the church and/or simply entertaining. Christian hip hop music emerged from urban communities in the United States in the 1980s, when it existed almost exclusively in small underground scenes, with minimal formal industry promotion and little mainstream attention. It emphasizes the use of positive and uplifting messages to promote faith and belief.
Lecrae Devaughn Moore, mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American Christian hip hop recording artist, songwriter, music executive, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the independent record label Reach Records, was the co-founder and president of the now-defunct non-profit organization ReachLife Ministries, is an investor and co-owner of the audio production software MXD, and is a co-founder of the film production studio 3 Strand Films. 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. He produced much of his earlier material along with other early Reach Records releases. Lecrae, in reference to his label as a Christian rapper, has stated that his music is just hip hop, though it reflects his Christian faith. In May 2016, Lecrae signed to Columbia Records in a joint deal between his label and Columbia. He left Columbia in May 2020.
Matthew Jehu Samuels, known professionally as Boi-1da, is a Canadian record producer and songwriter based in Toronto, Ontario.
The following is a discography of production by Boi-1da.
Mark Julian Felder, more commonly known under the simply Bizzle, is an American Christian hip hop recording artist and entrepreneur.
The discography of Lecrae, an American Christian hip hop artist, consists of ten studio albums, one of which was a collaborative; three mixtapes; one extended play; eighty-eight singles, including forty-seven as a featured performer; fifty-two music videos, including twenty-three as a featured performer; and eighty-three 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.
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.
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.
Derek Johnson, Jr., better known by his stage name Derek Minor and former stage name PRo, is an American Christian hip hop artist, 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.
Talented 10th is the third studio album by American Christian hip hop artist Sho Baraka, released through his own label, Lions & Liars Music, on January 15, 2013. It is the first solo release by Sho Baraka since he left Reach Records in 2011. The album title and concept was based on the essay of the same name by W. E. B. Du Bois. Talented 10th is "not just a picture of Christian salvation but also focuses on education, relationships and social change - all filtered through a biblical worldview." However, Talented 10th was controversial with some in the Christian scene due to the appearance of strong language on the song "Chapter 9 - Jim Crow".
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 Andy Mineo, Tedashii, Trip Lee, Gawvi, 1K Phew, WHATUPRG, Wande, and Hulvey. The hip-hop collective 116 operates under the label and consists primarily of the label's solo acts. The artists Aha Gazelle, Derek Minor, KB and Sho Baraka were formerly signed to the label, and DJ Official was under the label until his death. Reach Records is distributed by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.
The Maven Boys are a songwriting-production duo from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, consisting of Zale "Zalezy" Epstein and Brett Ryan Kruger. In 2012, they were featured on Complex Magazine's 25 New Producers To Watch Out For list. The Maven Boys have co-produced alongside Eminem and Boi-1da. They have worked with many notable artists including Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, The Game, Schoolboy Q, Rockie Fresh, Rick Ross, Meek Mill, French Montana, Common, 2 Chainz, T.I., Slaughterhouse, Nicole Scherzinger, Dan Hill, Childish Gambino, Mobb Deep, Nipsey Hussle, Fabolous, Yo Gotti, Vic Mensa, Mase, Kid Ink, PartyNextDoor, Wiz Khalifa, Fat Joe, Wale, DJ Drama, Joe Budden, Bun B, Juicy J, Kevin Gates, T-Pain, Skeme, Ace Hood, Far East Movement, Down With Webster and J. Cole.
"Round of Applause" is a single by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae, released on May 14, 2013. The lead single from the commercial version of his mixtape Church Clothes 2, it was followed a week later by an extended, non-commercial version which featured B.o.B. Upon the release of the album's track-listing on November 2, which listed "Round of Applause" without B.o.B's feature, Reach Records producer Alex Medina tweeted that the commercial version of Church Clothes 2 does not contain the feature, while the free version hosted by Don Cannon does contain B.o.B's feature.
Crimson Cord is the fifth studio album from Christian hip hop recording artist Propaganda. The album was produced by Beautiful Eulogy and released by Humble Beast Records on April 29, 2014. It met with commercial and critical success.
Heartbeat is the seventh studio album by Christian hip hop recording artist Da' T.R.U.T.H., released on April 15, 2014 by Da' T.R.U.T.H.'s own label, Mixed Bag Records. It features artists such as Braille, Capital Kings, Chris August, Lecrae, Papa San, and Tedashii, and production by Black Knight, DJ Corbett, Justin Ebach, Jordin Endow, Epikh Pro, J.R., Joseph Love, Alex Medina, Carlin Muccular and S1.
Satellite Kite is the debut album by the Portland, Oregon-based experimental hip hop trio Beautiful Eulogy, released through Humble Beast Records in both commercial and free formats on June 19, 2012. The album was praised for its eclectic and heavily folk-influenced sound, unconventional production, highly skilled rapping, and deep theological lyrics.
Instruments of Mercy is the second studio album by Portland, Oregon-based experimental hip hop trio Beautiful Eulogy, released through Humble Beast Records on October 29, 2013, in both free and commercial format. Like its predecessor, the album features a highly eclectic folk-hip hop fusion melded with numerous other styles such as electronic, indie, hymn tunes, and contemporary worship music. Courtland Urbano, the main producer of the trio, eschewed the use of digitally-generated effects and instrumentation in composing the music for Instruments of Mercy, instead relying solely on analog and natural sounds. A single from the album, "Vital Lens", was released as a digital download on September 10, 2013. The album fared well commercially, charting at No. 6 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums chart, and was lauded by critics for its diverse and creative sound and deeply theological lyrics. PQ Monthly called the group "one the most innovative hip-hop acts in Portland."
Surrender is the third studio album from Bizzle. God Over Money Records released the album on October 23, 2015. He worked with Beanz-N-Kornbread, Boi-1da, The Cratez, Dilemma, Dreamcatchers, Marv4MoBeats, and Vybe, in the production of this album.
John Lawrence Givens, known professionally as John Givez and sometimes Juan Dando, is an American musician, who plays hip hop, R&B, soul, funk and neo soul music. He is cousins with fellow rapper JGivens. John has released two studio albums, Four Seasons in 2013, Soul Rebel in 2015, while both releases charted on the Billboard magazine charts.
Marques Adams, who goes by the stage name Sevin, is an American Christian hip hop rapper who has officially retired from music in September 2018. He has released 20 studio albums: All or None, Evin Angelz Kry (2004), Holy Mictramony, Feel me..., Father Forgive Me (2005), Sevin presentz : Hog Life : The LP, Work of Art : The R&B EP (2007), B 4 I Wake (2007), We Die (2007), Str8 frum tha Dragonz Mouth (2008), HOG MOB : Tha LP (2008), Faith, Love & Lust (2009), " Unreleased aka Rezin" (2009-10?), Finally Home (2010), "Finally Home Vol. 2" (2011), Purple Reign (2011), Commissary (2013), Pray 4 My Hood (2015), "I'll Wait" (2015), Purple Heart (2016), "Surrender" (2017), "Rather Die Than Deny" (2018), "Tha Mob Chronicles " (2018), and his final album "4eva Mobn" (2018). The album Commissary was his breakthrough release upon the Billboard magazine charts. His four mixtapes were Nine 1 Sikk Mixtape volume 2 : City Of Kingz (2006) and 9 1 Sikk Mixtape volume 3 : Hunterz Moon (2007) Nine 1 Sikk Mixtape volume 4 : kakoon. He also released a greatest hits album, Street Legal (2006).
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