S. Samuel
Christian rapper Lecrae has cleared the air on recent rumors suggesting he may be the latest artist to sign on the dotted line to join Jay-Z's growing Roc Nation empire.
Despite the heated gossip, the Houston, Texas rapper said he is currently not on any Jigga roster.
“[Laughs] At this point in time, no. Essentially, he was looking for some conscious artists and my name was thrown into a pool of other artists and that’s as far as it went.” (Ebony)
He also explained why teaming up with Young Hov’s Roc Nation would likely never go down.
“Nah. For multiple reasons, but one majorly, I’m an independent artist, I’m a label owner,” Crae added when asked if he would consider joining Jay-Z. “I love my independence. I love being able to create the story. And I want to do in many ways what Jay-Z is doing for the mainstream. He’s inspiring a lot of people to think they can do something on their own. I want to inspire people that they can do it on their own and not compromise their faith and beliefs, as well. So, that’s what I stand for.” (Ebony)
Last year, the rapper talked about his admiration for Jay and the never-ending connections the rap mogul receives to extreme religious rumors.
“I don’t know. I sympathize with him because I’ve been accused of a lot of things that are just ridiculous and so I can’t imagine at his level, what’s real and what’s not. People accuse me of stuff and I’m just like where did you get that from? And I can only imagine that when you’re at his level or his height, you’re being accused of tons of stuff. Some of it may be true. I don’t know. I really can’t tell. I don’t even know what the Illuminati is, but somehow I’m a member. I’m like man if they’re accusing me of this and it’s so left field and ridiculous, I don’t know if [the rumors] of Jay-Z [being involved] are legitimate or not.” (“The Yolanda Adams Morning Show”)
Recently, Lecrae spoke to SOHH about working with an artist like Big K.R.I.T. who can balance both religion and illicit desires in his rhymes.
“The Big K.R.I.T. record I’ve got is called “May Day.” I knew K.R.I.T. to be a real transparent dude, he’s got no problem talking about his struggles and his ups and downs. One record he might be at the strip club and the next he might be reading the Bible. A lot of people like that because it’s authentic. A normal person who doesn’t have those complexes won’t try to pretend. I thought it would be a dope opportunity for me to get on a record with someone that could say, “Look, I don’t have it all together.” He’s got a church past and so he’s heard some things and he’s just wrestling with them. I really thought this would be a dope opportunity for people to relate to those and also for me to get on there to relate to him and also give some answers to those things people are wrestling with.” (SOHH Singled Out)
