Lecrae Devaughn Moore, known professionally as Lecrae, is a Black American hip-hop artist born in Houston, Texas, in 1979. His recordings brought Christian rap to listeners across gospel and mainstream music. Gravity, released in 2012, won Best Gospel Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards. In 2014, Anomaly debuted at number one on both the Billboard 200 and Gospel charts. Those milestones sit alongside his work building Reach Records, the independent label he co-founded with Ben Washer in 2004.
Reach Records started small in a genre with little commercial infrastructure. Christian hip-hop had few commercial footholds, and Moore built the label with a roster of like-minded artists, releasing his debut album Real Talk the year the company began. He formed the group 116 Clique with rappers Sho Baraka, Tedashii and Trip Lee, and the label's associated ReachLife Ministries supported teaching and outreach. Reporting has described Reach Records as the most successful Christian hip-hop label in the history of the genre.
The Grammy history attached his name to a first. When Gravity won Best Gospel Album at the 2013 ceremony, the Recording Academy recorded it as the first time a hip-hop artist won the honor in that category.
Anomaly extended the reach. The album sold 88,000 copies in its first week and opened at number one on the Billboard 200, putting an independent faith-based hip-hop release at the top of the mainstream album chart.
In a 2021 interview, Lecrae described supporting Peace Preparatory Academy in Atlanta with educator Benjamin Wills. The reporting credited him with helping finance the school; the work belonged to a broader group of educators and community partners. His account linked that support to wanting young people to see wider possibilities for their lives.
In a 2025 Sojourners interview, Lecrae described a period of doubt and a reconstruction of his Christian faith. The article linked that crisis to backlash after he spoke against racism and police violence. He said that learning from Christian traditions beyond a Western perspective changed his understanding.
