''Church Clothes'' is the first mixtape by Christian hip hop artist

Lecrae Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the in ...

, 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 Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a 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 Christon Michael Gray (born July 18, 1986), is an American R&B singer and rapper born and raised in Columbus, Ohio. He calls his music "about being human". It is this approach that has allowed him a successful transition from Christian music to ...

, and

Braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille display ...

, 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 In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym f ...

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 A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' Christian Albums and Gospel Albums charts.

Release and reception

On May 3, 2012, Lecrae premiered his music video for the title-track of his ''Church Clothes'' mixtape online on '' XXL''. This followed his release of the title-track on Rapzilla on April 27, 2012, for free download. The video was noted for including cameos by

Kendrick Lamar Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper and songwriter. Known for his progressive musical styles and socially conscious songwriting, he is often considered one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generat ...

and

DJ Premier Christopher Edward Martin (born March 21, 1966), known professionally as DJ Premier (also known as Preemo), is an American record producer and DJ. He is considered one of the greatest hip hop producers of all time. He was half of the hip hop du ...

, and attracted almost 20,000 views in less than a day. The mixtape itself was subsequently released for free on May 10, 2012 on the website DatPiff.com, and within 48 hours reached 100,000 downloads. It reached 250,000 downloads (rated platinum on DatPiff) in less than a month.

Bun B Bernard James Freeman (born March 19, 1973), known professionally as Bun B, is an American rapper. He is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK (UnderGround Kingz), a group he formed in 1987 alongside Pimp C. Aside from his work wit ...

was also noted as promoting the album. Artists featured on the mixtape include No Malice, formerly Malice, of Clipse on the song "Darkest Hour", fellow labelmates Tedashii and Andy Mineo, as well as Dre Murray, Thi'sl, Swoope, and

Propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loa ...

, Odd Thomas, and

from Humble Beast appeared on the track "Misconception", with Humble Beast member Courtland Urbano providing production. Braille, Odd Thomas, and Courtland Urbano all are members of

Beautiful Eulogy Beautiful Eulogy is a Christian experimental hip hop group and production team from Portland, Oregon, signed to the label Humble Beast. Composed of rappers Braille and Odd Thomas and producer Courtland Urbano, the group coalesced in 2011 while t ...

. The mixtape also included input from notable producers

9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is a Boi-1da, S1, and Street Symphony. The day before the release of ''Church Clothes'', DaSouth stated the album "may be the most important Christian hip hop album in history." In support of this opinion, the writer cited Lecrae's collaboration with Don Cannon, the featuring of No Malice along with the producers S1, 9th Wonder, and Street Symphony, the fact that the album was free, and Lecrae's more "relational" lyrical approach. The single "Church Clothes" was also chosen as a Staff Pick for the week of May 7, 2012, by iHipHop. On June 25, 2012, a remastered version of the mixtape, without DJ Don Cannon, was released as an EP for sale on iTunes. Due to issues with sampling, this version was much shorter with only seven songs. Upon its release, the EP was noted by Rapzilla for reaching number 5 on the iTunes Hip Hop/Rap charts, and it debuted on the ''Billboard'' charts as number 10 on both the Christian Albums and Gospel Albums charts for the week of July 14, 2012.

Controversy

Following its release, the mixtape garnered controversy in

Christian media Christian media, sometimes referred to as inspirational, faith and family, or simply Christian, is a cross-media genre that features a Christian message or moral. Several creative studios and mass media formats are considered to be aspects of Ch ...

. Fears were raised over Lecrae's collaboration with the "secular"

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder duri ...

and the possibility of him losing touch with the

Gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

and "selling-out" to a mainstream audience. His harsh view of the Church, particularly taken in the song "Church Clothes", also drew concern. Lecrae responded that his song "Church Clothes" was written in the third-person and was voicing a non-Christian's view of the Church. He also explained that the song was meant to expose hypocrisy both in the Church and in the view of the Church by unbelievers. In a video interview with ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the maga ...

'', Lecrae said that "just because you're inconsistent doesn't mean the Truth isn't the Truth." Paul S. Morton, Keisha Allen, and Kenneth T. Whalum Jr. have all come out in support for the song. As for his move into the mainstream, Lecrae has explained that he is attempting to move out of the stigma of being a "Gospel rapper" and reach out to a broader culture. In a blog post designed to clarify his stance, Lecrae wrote: " hristianslimit spirituality to

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

and

sanctification Sanctification (or in its verb form, sanctify) literally means "to set apart for special use or purpose", that is, to make holy or sacred (compare la, sanctus). Therefore, sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i.e. ...

. As long as we are well versed in personal piety and individual salvation, we think we're good. But most Christians have no clue how to engage culture in politics, science, economics, TV, music or art. We tend to leave people to their own devices there." Rapzilla supported this stance, with Chris Lassiter saying "I pray that the Christian Hip-Hop community would have such a vision for the glory of God in music, production, videography, lyricism, etc., that anyone that wanted to experience Hip-Hop at its highest art form would have to come to the Christians."

Critical reception

The mixtape was praised by critics, particularly for its production and lyrical content.

AllHipHop AllHipHop is a hip hop news website founded by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur in 1998. History The website was founded in 1998 by Greg Watkins and Chuck Creekmur. In 1997, Watkins registered the allhiphop.com domain to promote the artists on ...

rated the album eight out of ten, praising the album's "ability to focus on the

Christian values Christian values historically refers to values derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ. The term has various applications and meanings, and specific definitions can vary widely between denominations, geographical locations and different school ...

without coming off as preachy, or even Bible-thumping." ''The Christian Manifesto'' in an audio review called the production solid and praised the emcee work on "Misconception", but stated that "No Regrets" failed to match the energy and intensity of the first half of the album. J. F. Arnold rated the album 4.5 out of 5, while Nick Ahern gave it 4.25 out of 5. Ahern stated that he had not been a fan of Lecrae, but that his opinion changed on this release, mainly due to Lecrae's "fierceness" and speed. A written review by Michael Wildes for ''The Christian Manifesto'' rated the album a complete five stars and nominated it for that website's annual Lime Awards. DaSouth, which rated the album four out of five, viewed "No Regrets" more favorably, calling Suzy Rock's singing "top-notch" and regarding the collaboration of Big Juice and Street Symphony as a "near perfect backdrop". Both DaSouth and AllHipHop leveled some criticism at "Darkest Hour", with

calling the hook "cheezy" and DaSouth viewing the track as a personal low-point, calling it too slow and stating that they expected more from No Malice. Mike McCray from '' The Fayetteville Observer'' was favorable to the album, stating at the end of his review that "I never thought I’d hear the day gospel music sampled

Pimp C Chad Lamont Butler (December 29, 1973 – December 4, 2007), better known by his stage name Pimp C, was an American rapper and record producer. He was best known for his work with Bun B as one half of the hip-hop duo Underground Kingz (UGK). S ...

, but I’m glad I did. ''Church Clothes'' is 'come as you are' music, presenting faith as a defining theme without being pious. The project may ruffle some feathers, but its wider appeal can’t be overlooked." Jam the Hype Radio highly praised the mixtape, stating, "It contains some of the best hip-hop songs of the year and is totally worth the listen!" StupidDOPE was highly favorable to the album, praising Lecrae's mic skills and noting that he "is finally stepping onto the mainstream stage" with his collaboration with No Malice on "Darkest Hour". '' XXL'' gave the album an "XL" rating, the equivalent of four out of five, calling ''Church Clothes'' a "strong release in that it helps deliver a message without beating the listener over the head with religious propaganda". The production was highly praised by the magazine, which noted the appearance of 9th Wonder on "Rise" and "Long Time Coming" but stated that the more unknown producers Big Juice and Street Symphony on "No Regrets" and Tha Kracken! on "Rejects" stole the show. Indie Vision Music rated the album four out of five, praising the songs "Church Clothes", "Sacrifice", and "Rejects", among others, but leveling some criticism at, among others, the songs "APB", "Special" and "Rise". The mixtape was also chosen by iHipHop as a Staff Pick for May 14, 2012, with staff member jGerson writing that "I might have to agree with Serge. There was nothing I was feeling more this week than Lecrae's mixtape Church Clothes mixtape." jGerson listed the track "Rise" as their favorite on the album. ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...

'' viewed the album favorably, stating that "The dude can surely spit, but ''Church Clothes'' starts off sounding very boxed in and predictable. However, once you get to the middle—and get into some of the impeccable production... ...Lecrae proves to be a promising new talent with some amazing tracks under his belt." ''Vibe'' listed standout tracks as "The Price Of Life," "Inspiration," "Darkest Hour," "Rise," and "Church Clothes."

Track listing

EP version

Chart history

''Church Clothes'' debuted at number 10 on the ''

'' Christian Albums and Gospel Albums charts. Released on iTunes, it was reported by Rapzilla that the album reached number 5 on iTunes's Hip Hop/Rap chart.

References

External links

Album on DatPiff.com"Church Clothes" official promo video
on

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{{Authority control Lecrae albums Albums produced by 9th Wonder Albums produced by Boi-1da Albums produced by Don Cannon 2012 mixtape albums Albums produced by Symbolyc One Reach Records albums Albums produced by Street Symphony Albums produced by Beam