Saigon gets personal in the video treatment for his latest single “Best Thing That I Found.” The track can be found on his 2012 sophomore album, titled The Greatest Story Never Told Chapter 2: Bread and Circuses. The song also features the Grammy-winning Houston emcee Lecrae and singer Corbett. Check out the video above.

The post Watch Saigon’s Video For “Best Thing That I Found” With Lecrae & Corbett appeared first on XXL.

Last night, leading up to and during the 55th Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, most hip-hop fans were probably paying attention to categories like Rap Album of the Year (won by Drake for Take Care), Best Rap Song (taken by “Niggas in Paris”) or how Frank Ocean would fare (he performed towards the end of the show and won for Best Urban Contemporary Album and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration). Those paying attention, though, might have caught another rap victory: Lecrae’s Gravity, which took home Best Gospel Album. As he’s done consistently over the last half-decade, the Reach Record rhymer continues to break down barriers, as he became the first rapper to take home the award. Waiting at the airport for his flight to take off as his exciting Grammy weekend came to a close, Lecrae checked in with XXL to reflect on the honor, discussing the “Amen” controversy with Meek Mill, and plans to work with TDE. —Adam Fleischer

What’s happening man? Congrats.
Hey, bro, thank you.

What’s been going on?
Same old, same old. Just a different day.

Extra different, though, after last night.
[Laughs]. You know, that’s yet to be seen.

In terms of your win, how did everything go down? I know that’s one of the awards that they give away before the main broadcast.
It’s a whole separate ceremony. I was actually on the Red Carpet, talking to Baron Davis, who was telling me how much he was a fan. He was saying, ‘I’d love to get an interview with 2 Chainz and Nas and yourself, so you can kind of interject your perspective.’ So I was kind of waiting around for that interview to happen; I was like, that’s a good look for hip-hop as a whole. And then at that moment, I got a text message that said, “You won, bro.” After that, my phone started blowing up. We took off running down the Red Carpet to the auditorium to see for ourselves.

So you leave the Red Carpet, and where do you go?
It’s another auditorium in the Nokia Center. It’s literally across the street from the Staples Center. I ran in there, my man Street Symphony had already run down there; my manager and them had already run down there to accept the award. I just tried to figure out where to go. We got escorted backstage, and then they took us through this maze of photos and interviews that lasted a good hour. It was dope, man. It was a crazy, wild experience. I really didn’t have much time to revel in the moment, because it was go, go, go.

After that, were you sitting in the Staples Center for the main show?
Yeah, I was actually sitting right in front of Meek Mill and Wale. We had a little dialogue while we were sitting there. Jay walked right past me. It was crazy.

Had you met Wale and Meek before?
I met Meek at the BET Cypher the first time I did the Cypher. I actually talked to Meek last night about the whole “Amen” controversy, and just tried to let him know that the way the pastor approached him is not really the way that I think Christians should be represented. Whether or not I agree with the song, I still don’t think that was the correct approach. And he was appreciative and it was good, man.

I know you’ve been nominated before. Obviously you won last night, but overall, how did this experience compare to the last one?
The first time around, you’re a little more like a deer in headlights, just trying to figure out what’s going on. The whole L.A. vibe, the whole Grammy vibe, and just taking it all in. You don’t know where you need to go, what you need to do. This time around, I was a little more calm and trying to take it for what it is—meeting people, making connections, and a lot more confidence in who I am as an artist and what I’m there for. So winning was like, Wow, the cherry on top of everything else. It was already a dope time, a dope experience, connecting with producers like S1 and DJ Khalil. We started talking. Gonna do some stuff with TDE. I was already excited about moving forward with those relationships, and then to win a Grammy, that was real crazy.

We’ve talked before about the Grammys, and this particular category of Best Gospel Album, and how it’s separated by content and not by style. And you’ve kind of taken issue with that in the past. But now you’ve won. How are you reconciling all of that?
I look at it like, at the end of the day, I think it’s the content that is the bigger issue for people, and why they’re separating the category. We all know I’m not a Gospel singer. I’m not Marvin Sapp, I’m not James Fortune—guys who were in my category. I’m sure there’s some people that do traditional Gospel music that have an issue with me being in the category, let alone winning. But I think it’s always been an issue that people have with the Grammys, in terms of, What’s Song of the Year versus Best Record of the Year? More than anything, I’m confident that the music was good and I think it stands up there with a lot of the hip-hop albums. I’ll take it.

Do you know where you’re gonna put the award?
I’m gonna put it at Reach Records, in our office studio, just so that the whole team can see it and be inspired to keep building and keep working. Because we’re not done. We’re just getting started.

The post Lecrae Reflects on Grammy Win, Plans Collaboration With TDE appeared first on XXL.

Lecrae’s Gravity scored high on the Billboard 200 when it was released last year. It was enough to show that the Atlanta-based Christian rapper found his place in the rap game. Now, he is back with another visual for the standout track “Fakin’” featuring Thi’sl.

In the video directed by Isaac Deitz, Lecrae calls out all the people who act like something they are not. Specially, he raps his disapproval on people who “ride around and pretendin.’” Watch it above.

The post Lecrae ft. Thi’sl “Fakin’” [Video] appeared first on XXL.

Lecrae drops a new visual off his sixth studio album,Gravity. For “Mayday” featuring Big K.R.I.T. and Ashthon Jones, we find the rappers reflecting on a death of a loved one in church. The Houston native is preparing to drop Church Clothes Vol.2 soon.

The post Lecrae ft. Big K.R.I.T. & Ashthon Jones “Mayday” [Video] appeared first on XXL.

Lecrae is proving that he has plenty of followers.

The Reach Records rapper, who co-founded the independent label nearly a decado ago and has built his base within the niche Christian rap community, will this week debut at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 72,000 for his sixth album, Gravity. The release includes an appearance from Big K.R.I.T. and follows up the rapper’s May 2012 Don Cannon-hosted mixtape Church Clothes, which helped secure a broader audience and offered collaborations with 9th Wonder, Boi-1da and No Malice.

A little further down the chart, 2 Chainz’s Based on a T.R.U. Story landed at No. 7 this week, 26,000 copies to creep towards a quarter million sold in his month on the charts. Meanwhile, Slaughterhouse and their Shady Records/Interscope debut, welcome to: OUR HOUSE fell to No. 23, selling 13,000 units this time around, after debuting at No. 2 last week.

Look out for DMX’s comeback album, Undisputed, to enter the charts next week. —Adam Fleischer (@AdamXXL)

The post Lecrae Debuts at No. 3 on Billboard 200 With Gravity appeared first on XXL.

Houston bred rapper Lecrae dropped his 6th album Gravity today, which includes features from Big K.R.I.T, Trip Lee, and Ashton Jones. Be sure to pick up a copy of the Christian rapper’s Gravity, out today via Lecrae’s Reach Records and check out the full length stream of the LP here.

The post Stream Lecrae’s New Album, Gravity appeared first on XXL.

The post XXL Quick Hitters: 50 Cent, Lecrae, Eve, and Freddie Gibbs appeared first on XXL.

The post Four Cases of Influential Church Figures Voicing Against Hip-Hop appeared first on XXL.

The post Lecrae Releases Trailer for New Album, Gravity [Video] appeared first on XXL.

The post XXL Presents… Fonzworth Bentley’s Six Most Polished Rappers appeared first on XXL.

Augue montes augue enim, magna enim! Lorem enim, lundium aenean et risus, turpis turpis nisi risus. A cursus amet elit, hac in? Arcu elit massa augue, dictumst? A cursus. Cum? Natoque adipiscing sit lorem et sed natoque penatibus elementum. In, vut massa, odio aenean augue sit a mauris, mus, urna. Cursus lacus. Purus tincidunt ultricies lectus. Porttitor urna duis aenean sed mus ac sed purus, augue scelerisque parturient phasellus dictumst. Porttitor tortor porta vel rhoncus? Vel porta scelerisque in est magna, aenean, mauris ac arcu nisi amet ultricies, ridiculus augue! Massa eros! Mid odio. Porta? Lundium scelerisque dis cursus dignissim nec sagittis, adipiscing! Lorem, turpis, ac, mid ac odio odio in scelerisque? Cras auctor, porttitor in hac scelerisque magnis turpis.

Tristique augue porta nec odio! Et in non! Lacus, penatibus rhoncus vel scelerisque mus velit massa arcu. Facilisis sociis purus risus penatibus integer, ac dapibus rhoncus, cras! Turpis arcu? Massa aliquet ac elementum rhoncus ac integer eros urna mauris parturient, sit. Et magnis. Sed nec turpis eros, diam est ultricies in lectus sit etiam duis elementum natoque scelerisque integer? Phasellus, ultrices massa mus risus a habitasse purus etiam rhoncus lundium et, proin enim enim integer hac parturient nec porta elementum velit nisi non! Nisi, augue placerat platea! Eu tristique, aliquet et amet aliquam! Augue adipiscing, dolor, urna ut penatibus a? Pid pellentesque et sed, auctor nec? Sit, ac duis, dignissim! Platea penatibus natoque, nec enim arcu. Lundium ac lacus.

The post Lecrae Talks New Mixtape, Musical Influences, Jesus Pieces and Tattoos [Video] appeared first on XXL.

The post Lecrae Breaks Down His Nine Most Essential Songs appeared first on XXL.

In March, Malice announced that he was changing his name to No Malice. It was another step in the transformation that the Clipse member had been going through. As his brother and groupmate Pusha T built a solo career following the duo’s last project, late 2009′s Till The Casket Drops, No Malice has experienced a religious awakening, released a book, Wretched, Pitiful, Poor, Blind and Naked, and taken a bit of a step back from music. In early May, though, Lecrae dropped his Church Clothes mixtape, which included the track “Darkest Hour” featuring No Malice. XXLMag.com caught up with the Virginia native to talk about the verse (included below). —Adam Fleischer (@AdamXXL)

“Lord have mercy and pity on your son/From what I once was, to what I have become/Forgive me for my past and the noses left numb/As I’m led down this path to the beat of a different drum/Fee-fi-fo-fum I’m conquering my giants/And all by my lonesome I’m conquering Goliath/I cut it on the buyers, now I trade in the triple beams/I’m Tebow to the game and I done traded teams/The slate is clean and ever since I’ve been delivered/My flow got em guessing like rock, paper, scissors/Before the feds came we were already prisoners/32 years made us all reconsider/The holy ghost in us, so whoever got a gripe/Prove the devil’s alive and well, Tyler got it right/How long can you live with your hands up in the white?/Jesus or the Judge? They both offer you life”

XXLMag.com: Did you custom fit this verse for what Lecrae was doing, or is it more indicative of the space you’re in right now?
No Malice: I didn’t actually custom fit that rhyme for Lecrae. It’s basically the space that I’m at—what I’m doing these days. I can pretty much find my way around any topic, but ’Crae was just like, “Do your thing,” and he didn’t give me any guidelines.

You talk about conquering your giants. What are those giants?
When I said in that verse, “Conquering my giants,” what I meant by that is it’s a lot of, I guess, stigmas or things that you may have been accustomed to that, as far as I’m concerned—[I'm] just doing things a lot differently and contrary to what my fans have known me for, or contrary to what my fans have seen me do and the things I represent. To have the change of heart that I have, and to have to go back and redo it, and do it publicly, and do it in such a way that, for the most part, is not popular, and is definitely going against what I guess the norm would be. But I feel so strongly about it—I’m so convicted by my beliefs and my thoughts—to come back into this arena and share my thoughts now is just something I gotta do. No matter who may not like it or who may not understand.

Has there been much push back from fans or other people?
I really haven’t. It says a lot for going with your heart, being true to yourself. You might have thought initially, before I had made this change, that everybody would come against you. But it really hasn’t been that way. I’m happy with my new movement. My fans definitely got my back. I even got more fans, and I get a lot of support.

Later, you say “32 years made us all reconsider.” What is that in reference to?
When I say, “32 years made us all reconsider,” that is my manager, Anthony Gonzales, he got sentenced to 32 years. All of our friends that were down with us from the very beginning [did, too]. I’m talking about people that we consider family. They are family—Christmases, Thanksgivings, birthdays, kids’ birthdays, picnics, families together. That’s what we did. Traveled overseas together. They been with us through this whole journey with our rap careers. To see them all get indicted, and to see them all go to jail to the tune of 32 years—we had a lot of fun, but we didn’t do anything that warranted 32 years. Or, we didn’t do anything that was that much fun that warranted 32 years. It took ten years for everything that we celebrated to come back and bite us. I can only imagine the amount of people that it affected other than ourselves. From the first time our album dropped [to] ten year [later in] 2009, and we’re getting affected, it’s got to be tons of other people that were affected. So when the judge slams that gavel and says 32 years, it definitely made us rethink things.

Was that sentencing a big turning point for you?
The thing about the sentencing was, I had started my blog, Made My Life Change, and when the sentencing came down, a lot of people thought I was doing that to distance myself from my manager. When in actuality that was already in play. I had already told my manager what was going down. And if I go see him right now, he’ll tell me, ‘Yo, you told me this was gonna happen.’ ’Cause I did. I told all of ’em. I told everybody. I could feel it. I could tell. I know when it’s getting sloppy. I know everything. I could see what was going on and I let cats know, I can feel it. And I was dead on right.

What’s been the main shift for you? You’ve been making religious references for some time in your music.
The main shift? I think I’ve always been building toward that. With me, I’ve always been—my mind works like none other. And the things that I was saying in my raps—and our music is a true music, it’s a very genuine, it’s a very real music. I think the Clipse, we always make it look good. And it did look good, and it was good, but the whole time I knew better. When I look at myself in the mirror or I go to bed at night, I know if what I did was wrong. I don’t care how much money it made me or what advantage it brought me. If it’s wrong, it’s wrong. People always talked about my duality in the group: I’ll say this, but I’ll make sense out of it in some kind of way. I think, right now, it basically got the best of me. Especially seeing everything that we’ve seen over the years. And now I want to be able to help someone else out. I’m not really talking to the grown people. If you an adult and you responsible, that’s your business. My son, he likes to rap; he got friends that rap; I got nephews that rap. Young kids, and they look up to Clipse and they look up to all the other cats that’s out there. I want to give them an option. I think that they don’t have an option. Everything is this one way, and that’s the way it’s gotta be. And if you wanna rap, it’s gotta be like this. I just wanna say it’s an alternative.

What did you mean when you said “Tyler got it right”? Is that Tyler, The Creator?
I’ve heard a lot about Tyler and I’ve heard about his music. Like the video he did with my brother, [there was a] “666.” I got Play Cloths clothing line, and we share the same distributor, so I seen some of their stuff. And I see upside down crosses and things about the devil. So when I say Tyler got it right, what I mean is everybody else is sleeping. Everybody else is acting like the devil don’t exist. A lot of people act like God don’t exist. So what I’m saying is that brother is very much awake. He got it right. He’s not sleeping. It seems like to me everybody else is just sleeping.

The verse closes with you saying that Jesus and the Judge can both offer you life.
They both offer you life, definitely. Pretty self explanatory. I am a lover, a believer and follower of Jesus. I make no bones about that. People know from my very first album, Exclusive Audio Footage, I even say a prayer on that album. We even had a song on that album called “Watch Over Me” where we’re basically praying, as well. I’ve always made a reference to my faith. It’s kind of hard, ’cause I guess I was straddling the fence. I was saying I believe in God but I was doing what I wanted to do. And by no means am I professing or claiming to be perfect, or I got it all figured out, I’m just trying to do things a little bit differently and a little bit better.

The post Train of Thought: No Malice Breaks Down “Darkest Hour,” His First Verse Since Changing His Name appeared first on XXL.

As an MC that openly describes himself as a Christian, Lecrae has begun to face an upward battle in growing his career. Religion is a topic that most rhymeslingers stay from and in this age of rappers talking sex, money and drugs, so an MC that links himself with religious beliefs (beyond a Jesus or cross namedrop) can have a hard time finding a wide audience. Don’t get it twisted, though, ‘Crae’s base is devout within its demographic. With that as the backdrop, the Reach Records leader drops his Don Cannon-hosted mixtape Church Clothes to show that religion or not, it’s all about hip-hop.

Church Clothes is a strong release in that it helps deliver a message without beating the listener over the head with religious propaganda. Tracks such as “Church Clothes and “Cold World” get the message across and provide a good introduction to those that don’t know Lecrae. Production wise, Church Clothes absolutely bangs, as 9th Wonder lends his production hand on “Rise” and “Long Time Coming.” Interestingly, 9th takes second billing to some of the more unknown producers as tracks such as BIg Juice & Street Symphony (“No Regrets”) and Tha Kracken! (“Rejects”) steal the show.

Production aside, it doesn’t hurt that Lecrae is a talented wordsmith, either, as he shines lyrically throughout the release. It’s impressive how he’s able to deliver a message without being preachy. Lecrae is an artist on the rise and Church Clothes is a prime example of the reach of hip-hop music and culture. —Nene Wallace Reed

The post Lecrae, Church Clothes appeared first on XXL.

With minimal mainstream press and radio backing, Lecrae has been building a small hip-hop empire over the last few years. His independent label, Reach Records, offers a roster of talented MCs with a message. The squad, spearheaded by Lecrae, has carved a lane and amassed a passionate following with their Christian-rooted raps—having sold hundred of thousands of records to date. Some more traditional hip-hop heads may be hesitant to give something with a religious tag a chance, but it’s a bit misleading. Wrapped in technically adept raps, ‘Crae and co. deliver music with a message without coming off preachy.

In recent months, the Atlanta-based MC has opened the ears of listeners and media outlets outside of religious circles. In hopes to widen his scope, he’s set to drop the DJ Don Cannon-hosted mixtape Church Clothes tomorrow (May 10), which features No Malice as well as production from 9th Wonder and Boi-1da. Here, he talks about those relationships, acceptance within hip-hop, and why he shouldn’t be boxed in. —Adam Fleischer (@AdamXXL)

XXLMag.com: This is your first mixtape. What made you want to do it now?
Lecrae: I know there’s a lot of people within hip-hop who are just starting to get familiar with what I’m doing and what I got going. I didn’t want them to have to one, pay for the music to experience it or test it out; and then, two, trying to communicate to a whole different group of people now. I think most of my fans were probably Christian fans, and wanted to hear particular things in music, and this goes around that. I wanted to address some different stuff in music that I thought a broader audience would appreciate.

Can you explain the Church Clothes title?
Everybody has this idea that, I gotta get dressed up; or, I gotta put on my church clothes. This putting on of airs. People believe that I gotta put on airs when it comes to dealing with God or dealing with Christians. Even like, when I first start meeting people, and they on the corner smokin’ or somethin’ like that, “Like, ah, there go ‘Crae, put it away.” But you ain’t gotta put on no airs for me. I don’t have a heaven or hell to put you in.

What was it like working with No Malice on this project?
It was dope. He reached out probably over a year ago, just asking questions. Somebody had kind of told him what I was doing, and he was like, “I’m in kind of a transition in my life.” He wanted to hear my story and my perspective, and from there we just started building. We talked about a little bit of everything—his life, and what he’s experienced, and my desire, too, to be involved in hip-hop culture and be able to just support people and help them. And then for him to explain to me some of the ins and outs and the woes of some of the life that he’s lived.

You worked with 9th Wonder and Boi-1da, too.
9th Wonder is my dude. We just connect on so many levels, it’s crazy. Both of us are equally passionate about substance in music. That’s really where I’m at. When you start talking about J. Cole and Big K.R.I.T. and Kendrick Lamar, I want to run right alongside those dudes. What’s important to them is their craft, and having something to say. That’s what me and 9th connected on. Boi-1da and I connected with years back. He’s a believer, he’s a Christian. He was like, “I appreciate you doing this. Someone told me about what you were doing, I thought it was dope. I wanna do some work with you.” He’s been busy, but he made time to slide me some work for this project, too.

Kendrick was in the “Church Clothes” video. What kind of relationship do you have with him?
Kendrick and I have been chopping it up for a few years now, just going back and forth. There’s a mutual respect. I appreciate his honesty and transparency. That’s one of the things you gotta say about him, is he’s gonna tell you what he believes and what he doesn’t believe, and if he’s confused, he’ll tell you that, too. K.R.I.T., too. I just recently got up with K.R.I.T. and that’s been real dope, because he’s the same way—just real transparent and what you see is what you get. I really appreciate people like that.

How did you link with Cannon?
We connected through my man Street Symphony, who’s a producer and also does A&R for me. Street has done stuff for Gucci Mane, Yo Gotti, the list goes on. So he was connected with Cannon and had that relationship. Cannon believed in the project 100%. He’s like, “Man, I rock with anybody who’s unashamed to stand for what they believe in and put it on wax.”

In the last year or so, your name has begun to cross over into more mainstream hip-hop circles. How has that changed what’s been going on with your movement?
I think more people are aware of what I’m doing. If anything, it’s made me be a little more intentional about addressing broader issues. Sometimes, as a Christian, you tend to talk about things that are only applicable within the Church or within the Christian community, instead of addressing a lot of elephants in the room that people who don’t go to church or have issues with the Church want addressed. Or just regular life stuff. I don’t always have to talk about me reading the bible or something along those lines. I do the same regular life things that most people do. More than anything, my message and mission has always been to give hope and inspiration and to see people transform.

Someone who isn’t a Christian or maybe is but isn’t religious, what would draw them to your music?
If somebody’s not rocking with what I believe, at the end of the day, I’m very passionate about the craft and the art. I’m gonna make sure I put out good art. I think anybody who loves hip-hop is gonna say, “I can’t deny: this is good hip-hop.” And that’s my whole reach records crew. We not gonna just put out something and say, “Well, because we believe in Jesus you should buy this;” we want it to be good art. On top of that, I can articulate some things that a lot people is like, “Okay, I can get that picture.” Plus, it’s just me right alongside what Brand Nubian has been doing, what Wu-Tang has done, what Lupe does—drop gems of faith in their music. You can rock with it or not.

Jeremy Lin shouted you out recently. Have you met him? What was that like?
Yeah, man. My Reach Records team and Trip Lee actually got out to New York and got some time to go to a game and hang out and get his perspective. He’s a fan. I love it. He’s family. I support J. Lin.

Do you ever resent the niche of this Christian hip-hop title that you’ve been given?
I remember when Eminem, I forgot the song ["My Dad's Gone Crazy"], but he was like, “I’d rather be a mutha****** gospel rapper.” I remember how that resonates through the culture. Like, “Man, that scene is wack.” The craft is frowned upon and it seems wack. So, for me, it’s more the presupposition of what that is and I don’t wanna be associated. Just call me hip-hop. Lecrae the person is a Christian, but my music is hip-hop, and I don’t want you boxing my music in because you have this presupposition of what it is. It’s frustrating at times, but little by little it’s starting to happen.

How do you break out of that box?
By making good music, building relationships, and then also—what’s funny is that in the Grammy’s, Christian music is the only music that is categorized off of content. Everything else is genre. Hip-hop is genre. When you start making content that everybody can relate to. That’s my aim now: to let people know that we care about a lot of the same things. We read the same books, we listen to the same songs, I have a different outlook about me sometimes, but we’re more alike than you can imagine.

The post Lecrae on Church Clothes Mixtape, Why He’s Hip-Hop, No Malice, Kendrick Lamar & Jeremy Lin appeared first on XXL.

When the Billboard charts came out last week, there was a rap album that debuted impressively high (No. 3 on the Rap Albums chart, No. 17 on the 200) despite not having much mainstream hip-hop exposure. That project was The Good Life, the fourth album from Trip Lee. The rapper is signed to the growing independent label Reach Records, an Atlanta based team of six Christian artists that has garnered momentum in recent years with a string of well-received and commercially successful album releases and tours. Here, Trip Lee explains his religious awakening and how it reflects in his music, what it means to be preachy, and why it doesn’t matter if he ever goes platinum. —Adam Fleischer (@AdamXXL)

Name: Trip Lee (@TripLee116)
Age: 24
Reppin’: Dallas, TX
Label: Reach Records

On the response to The Good Life:
With every album that comes out, I’m always blown away by the responses. This one, more than any other, I’ve gotten incredible responses. Before it came out, the dudes I roll with, everybody told me they thought it was my best record. Then when it came out, it seemed like all the fans thought it was my best record, too. To see it up on the iTunes charts and then to hear how well it did on the Billboard charts, it just blows me away and excites me. I work hard on the music and I want people to enjoy the music. At the same time, I talked about stuff that matters, so I’m hoping it helps people to think and that it’s an encouragement to folks.

On finding God in his life and music:
I was always a music lover ever since I was a little kid. My dad was playing soul and [other] stuff that he grew up on. I fell in love with hip-hop at 10 or 11, and then started writing raps. Jay-Z was the dude that influenced me the most, because he was one of the first dudes that made me pay attention to the lyrics and realize how thoughtful he was. When I was 14, that’s when I had this heart change, where I wanted to stop rapping about myself and how tight I was, and started to see the world differently. When I had this heart change, that’s when I became a Christian and started following Jesus. I started to think, “Okay, what does my writing have to do with what God said in His Word?” From that point, I was rapping at different spots around Dallas and recorded a little mixtape in my room. I met the dudes at Reach when I was about 15 or 16 years old. I built a relationship with them and have been rolling with them since then. Started my first album when I was 17. It came out just a couple days after I graduated from high school and I’ve been able to keep going. This is my fourth one.

On the overlap of Christianity and hip-hop:
I don’t think there’s anything about hip-hop culture itself that’s opposed to Christianity and Jesus. I think just so many times, dudes who do love Jesus, and dudes who are Christian and do follow, haven’t had much space made for them. I even get this with a lot of Christians and church folks saying, “You can’t be Christian and do hip-hop; the two don’t go together.” And I don’t believe that. That’s just not true. Anybody from any culture can be a Christian, but I just have to push off the stuff that doesn’t agree with Jesus. I don’t think it’s cool for me to say I’m a Christian and rap about sleeping with chicks in my music. That’s not who I am. God is not cool with that. I want all of my life to be consistent, including my music. I’m a Christian within hip-hop culture, and I think you’re going to be able to see that in my music.

On acceptance from the mainstream rap world:
There have been a lot of that. [The artists from the mainstream] tell me, “Hey, man, obviously we do very different stuff, but we appreciate y’all and we actually respect you for doing what you doing and being who you are within hip-hop.” There’s a lot more respect from dudes than you’d expect, being that we don’t get any radio play or any of that kind of stuff. More and more people are starting to see, “Oh, these dudes can rap, and these dudes are not ashamed to be who they are.” And I think there’s a respect for that.

On being classified as preachy:
If by preachy it means, “He seems self-righteous, he thinks he’s better than me, it seems like all he’s doing is looking down on me and telling me what to do,” I do not want to come off like that. I don’t want people to think that I think that I’m better than anybody. Somebody pointed me to something that changed my life, and I want to point other people to it, too. And, just like any rapper does, I want to say, “Look at life through my eyes.” You got Young Jeezy, who wants to rap about the trap, well that’s fine. He wants you to look at life through his eyes. And I want people to look at life through my eyes. But if by preachy people mean, “Oh, he has something to say,” then I’m perfectly fine with that. Because I do have something to say. Rappers, we say a lot of words. More than any other music, there’s a lot of words in our bars, and I’m just not going to waste words. If I got your ear for sixty minutes on a record, then I want to say something worth saying. I want to help you think about stuff. I want to challenge your perspective. I want to show you the stuff that I’ve seen. I hope it helps people.

The post Trip Lee – The Come Up appeared first on XXL.

[audio:http://www.xxlmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/WORK-f.-Lecrae-1.mp3]

Dee-1 and Lecrae put in “Work” as two of the South’s spitters capable of offering up some deep content hop on the same track.

The post Dee-1 & Lecrae “Work” appeared first on XXL.