Decided to clear off a book from my bedside table and picked this one up. Complete turn from everything I had been reading ~ this is an autobiography!
Not sure how many of you all have heard of Lecrae. The only reason I knew his name was from my short stint in Adult Hip Hop years ago, where I was introduced to his music through God is Enough.
This book was a quick read, but it was LOADED DOWN with some GOOD STUFF!!! His story is like so many others for black kids "in the hood" ... never knew dad, raised by mom, lots of bad influences, abused as a child in many ways, sex, drugs, alcohol, in trouble all the time, etc. He never fit in anywhere. When he was in high school his step dad got a great new job and they moved to a nicer area and he was in a school with more opportunities for him. However, it wasn't too long before he again didn't fit in. The new area was predominately white and although he could get good grades and was super talented with his rapping and drama, others just still saw him as "the black kid". His life just spiraled up and down over and over again until he was in college and started hanging out with the Christian kids because he didn't have anywhere else to go. He ended up going to an amazing conference one Christmas break and really felt the Lord calling him. He was saved that night and had his first true revelation about his life.
Long story short .... he starts making music (he writes and performs his own material) and does really well, then the Lord brings him down to open his eyes to the next step He wants him to take. Through all the various hills and valleys he finally has reached a point where he realizes he is exactly where he belongs. Yes, he is a Christian, but his music is for everyone. It reaches Christians and main stream because he writes from the heart ~ his heart. His trials and tribulations. His longings and weaknesses. His victories through Jesus.
Quotes that jumped out at me:
"I had finally been set free, but I was about to find out if I could live free. A person can be removed from slavery in an instant, but it takes a lifetime for slavery to be removed from a person."
"I'd been liberated from slavery, but slavery had not been liberated from me."
"We fool ourselves into thinking that when we're 'born again' we come out of the womb walking. But spiritual infants are like physical infants. When a child begins to learn how to walk, they fall a lot."
"All my life, I'd been hiding pieces of myself and putting up a front. I'd been hiding my weakness so everyone would think I was hard. So that people would like me. I finally let go of all that and surrendered. Now I refused to hide my struggles and imperfections, my temptations and my problems. I refused to exhaust myself trying to conform to others' expectations or fit in their boxes. For the first time in my life, I was free to live. Unashamed."
Once he 'crossed over' to doing main stream, he got a lot of flack from his Christian fans who thought he was leaving them and turning back to his old ways.
"But the critics don't know the whole story. Critics almost never do. They claimed I had been seduced by the money. They didn't know that I was actually losing money at many of those mainstream events ....
The critics said I was just chasing fame by trying to become friends with famous people. But they didn't know that I was an outsider at many of these events ....
The critics claimed I was a sell-out for being friends with people like Kendrick. .. They didn't know that he and I were constantly dialoging about faith. The critics hated that I was loving this community instead of attacking them. They didn't know that rappers would often come find me after a show--sometimes high and out of their minds--and ask me to help figure out what God wanted for their lives."
If you live for people's acceptance, you'll die from their rejection.
Two-time Grammy winning rap artist, Lecrae, learned this lesson through more than his share of adversity—childhood abuse, drugs and alcoholism, a stint in rehab, an abortion, and an unsuccessful suicide attempt. Along the way, Lecrae attained an unwavering faith in Jesus and began looking to God for affirmation. Now as a chart-topping industry anomaly, he has learned to ignore the haters and make peace with his craft. The rap artist holds nothing back as he divulges the most sensitive details of his life, answers his critics, shares intimate handwritten journal entries, and powerfully models how to be a Christian in a secular age. This is the story of one man's journey to faith and freedom.
(picture and description from amazon)
To hear a bit of his music, go here.
O:)
Melissa
