Mark Braboy
Blue & White Flash / Staff Writer
Grammy award winning hip-hop artist Lecrae, rocked the Rose E. McCoy Auditorium stage at Jackson State University on Feb. 27 as he headlined the Higher Learning Tour, presented by the Reformed University Fellowship (R.U.F.) campus ministry.
The crowd was a mixture between white, black, young, and old but even with all of the diverse groups represented, they all had one thing in common, their unified love for Jesus Christ.
Comedian Bone Hampton was the host for the evening which also featured up and coming rap artists Propaganda and Dee-1 as the opening acts. The concert was full of positive messages and great entertainment as the performers delivered an amazing and illuminating spectacle.
Bone Hampton warmed up the crowd with his stand-up genius before introducing the first artist, Propaganda. As fans rushed to the stage, the Los Angeles, Calif. native opened with a song entitled “Dig,” where he spit bars such as “Selfish, prideful, come get an eyeful/an ugly stain on a once wonderful resume/ Leisurely strolls down the road of perdition, leaves a man wishing for his old position/I know its so temping but its still so empty and if I ever lose sight come and get me.”
Throughout the show, all three artists performed their uplifting songs to the roaring sea of people and added inspiring messages about events that have occurred in their lives.
New Orleans, La. native Dee-1 delivered his message to the crowd instructing the audience to hold three of their fingers in the air. “These three [fingers] up, this is what this represents for my generation! Be real, be righteous, be relevant!”
Dee-1 could was one of the most memorable performers at the concert. His set was full of energy as he dived into the crowd and continued to perform. Lecrae briefly appeared during this set, performing alongside Dee-1 on a song called “Work”.
When Lecrae and his hype man/rap artist Loose Cannon arrived, the eager crowd screamed and filled the front of the stage. He gave an energetic and uplifting performance as he performed songs from his Grammy award winning album “Gravity” and his previous mixtape, “Church Clothes.” The highly illuminated stage and surrounding props added to the electric atmosphere as the stage shook and rumbled to the intensity of his drummer, DJ, as Lecrae sang a repertoire of songs that included his hits, “Violence,” “Church Clothes,” “APB,” and “Fakin.”
Throughout his set, he talked about issues such as inner city genocide, dealing with haters, rappers with fake images, issues in the church, finding true love, his college experiences, and finding God at a young age.
“Some people, they’re too young to really devote their lives to him. They’re like ‘I can’t give up all this good stuff,’ but I’m like, I did it! And I don’t regret it! Don’t think [that] just cause you’re young, you’re missing out on fun, man. You’re saving yourself from a lot of heartbreak. And I’d do this again in a heartbeat!”
Another poignant message delivered by Lecrae involved dealing with grief.
“I lost one of the closest people in my life this year and when they died, I was at the funeral home thinking, what’s next? See, I’m not scared of death. Most people [are] scared of death because they don’t know what’s on the other side. But I trust a king who already defeated death. So I don’t worry about it. My life is in the hands of Jesus and I’m not trippin!”
The concert closed with the crowd roaring for an encore and all of the performers hitting the stage for an explosive and high octane group performance.
Jackson State students were extremely impressed by the concert.
Imani Nelson, a sophomore biology major from Detroit, Mich. said, “The show was awesome! It was way better than I expected it to be. It was fun.”
Jaleel Exson, a sophomore history education major from Kosciusko, Miss said, “I think it’s a great thing that Lecrae and his team came down here to show that you don’t always have to rap about guns, violence, and sex all the time to appeal to a college student. I think it’s amazing that he let God use his gift and I thank God that he came and we were blessed to hear that.”
He added, “Get us out our comfort zone. We live in a rough neighborhood, but one thing that’s consistent is God, so I believe if we stay on his path and listen to his word, we’ll be good
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