Hip-hop artist, Lecrae, built an ecosystem of artists and creatives gathered together as a team with the aim to help individuals in the creative space find freedom within their art, and restoration within their circumstances.
Videos by American Songwriter
Lecrae told American Songwriter he chose to present this ecosystem through a tri-fold project centered around the theme of “restoration,” including a three part documentary, a book and an album.
Starting with the release of the documentary on YouTube August 14, 2020, Lecrae said he wanted to show viewers the stories behind not only his music, but his journey as an artist and activist.
The documentary set the stage for the next portion of this defining moment in his career with the album, released August 21, 2020, titled “Restoration.”
Lecrae said this album was filled with collaborations between different artists such as John Legend and BJ The Chicago Kid, who each had their own unique stories to tell and weave into the framework of the project.
These stories were audible ways to experience the process of rebuilding one’s life and the impact it has on personal viewpoints and motivations.
“We just started working on themes and working on how to deliver the narrative creatively and how the songs would play into a live experience and then the documentary that’s connected to it, and then the book of course, and people got excited about that,” Lecrae explained. “I was able to contact different artists and producers to get involved because they saw that it was bigger than just another simple project. They saw that it was an ecosystem that was going to be helpful for changing people’s lives.”
The last portion of the project, and according to Lecrae the most detailed aspect, was the book, titled “I Am Restored,” to be released October 13, 2020.
The book allowed for a freer form of expression, and stretched him to truly dive into the depths of his rise as an artist, the trials he worked through, the demands he felt, and the tensions he processed, Lecrae explained.
“I said this is my road to restoration. Let’s journal and chronicle my progress through this emotional and mental pain that I’m navigating and when I got to the end of it I had so much content and I wanted people to experience this journey,” Lecrae noted, when explaining how he visited Israel and studied the jewish word translated ‘restored.’ “So, I gave it [my journey] in song format, and I gave it in book format.”
Lecrae said he wants people to know that regardless of what circumstance you may be in, it’s not hopeless.
“There are countless people who have endured and weathered circumstances like what you’re experiencing right now and have come out better from it,” Lecrae said, “I’m just drawn to the marginalized, the disenfranchised, the broken, and those stories of brokenness inspire me because I see people from the depths who ascend the hill, make it out, and they’re better for it.”
“I want people to know that your circumstance is not the end,” Lecrae continued. “There’s hope and there’s restoration for you, You don’t have to believe the lies, the guilt, the shame that you’re enduring, you can believe that there’s grace and that’s what I’ve experienced. I’ve experienced trauma, failure…and yet God’s not done with me. I want people to walk away saying ‘man, there’s still life to be lived after what I’ve experienced.’.”
