Jeremy Anderson
Staff Writer
Rapper Lecrae recently dropped his new album “Anomaly” on Sept. 9 which appeared at No. 1 on the Billboard album charts.
Although Lecrae himself does not want to be labeled as a “Christian rapper,” his spiritual lyrics separate him from other mainstream rappers; but at the same time, he sounds like no other “Christian rapper” that’s been in the hip-hop game before.
When hearing that an artist is a “gospel rapper,” a multitude of stereotypes arise. Some believe that gospel rappers have corny lyrics and sound like preachers that are trying too hard to be cool. This could not be further from the truth in regards to Lecrae.
Lecrae is what his album title says, an anomaly. He doesn’t sound like the typical gospel rapper that performs at vacation bible studies. Yet, he sounds nothing like the rappers on the radio who can’t comprehend anything that doesn’t involve women, drugs, and fast cash.
The first song on the album, “Outsiders” depicts how Lecrae views himself, as an outsider. The song beautifully sets up a contrast between “insiders” and “outsiders.” Insiders, as the story is told, are ones who do what is the norm in order to be accepted, validated, or to be viewed as cool by society. Outsiders, conversely, are the unique few people who feel free enough to be themselves without sacrificing their own personal morals. An outsider’s validation comes from within their own mind, or whatever divinity he or she may believe in.
The second song on the album “Welcome to America,” is a story of what the United States looks like through three different points of view. Lecrae flashes his unparalleled ability to relate to different people from different walks of life as he raps from the vantage point of a black man in America, a soldier in the U.S army, and a foreign immigrant in the U.S.
The album is loaded with real content packed into 15 songs stretching over just 58 minutes. Lecrae touches on the blandness of lyrical content in the rap game.
His song “Nuthin” drives in how weak the subject matter of current hip-hop music is and how, as Lecrae says, rappers “ain’t talking about nothing.”
The song with the deepest content on the album, in my opinion is “Dirty Water.” The instrumentals include a heavy base with which Lecrae aggressively attacks the hypocrisy of people and the flaws of our society. In the song, he acknowledges slavery and its effects on black culture today, the faultiness of black culture.
Also found in the album are songs in which Lecrae delves into his personal life. These tracks are what make Lecrae so unique. Unlike how most Christian rappers almost preach at the listener, Lecrae makes himself relatable to any listener by also pointing out his own flaws and failures in his past and current life.
After transitioning from more biblical lyrics to related, but faith based, lyric, Lecrae has propelled himself to a rapper that can compete with any mainstream rapper. His four most recent projects, the two “Church Clothes” mixtapes, “Gravity,” and “Anomaly” have made his music relatable to people from all walks and all stages of life. They have also been excellent projects that are just as good as or better than any other rapper’s four most recent projects.
Lecrae’s “Anomaly” is his best work yet. Each song is well put together and the album highlights his versatility as a musician. Anyone who has not heard the album yet should definitely take a listen. “Anomaly” will has already transcended into the secular music industry and will hopefully thrust Lecrae into an even higher level in his promising career.
