''Restoration'' is the tenth studio album by American
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 i ...
, released on August 21, 2020, through
Reach Records
Reach Records is an American independent record label specializing in Christian hip hop. The label was founded in 2004 by Ben Washer and the hip-hop artist Lecrae. In addition to Lecrae, the Reach Records roster contains artists like Tedashii, T ...
. The album features appearances from
YK Osiris
Osiris Jahkail Williams (born September 7, 1998), known professionally as YK Osiris, is an American rapper and singer from Jacksonville, Florida. He initially gained popularity with the release of his songs "I'm Next (Freestyle)" and "Valentine" ...
,
Marc E. Bassy,
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
, Jozzy,
Kirk Franklin
Kirk Dewayne Franklin (born January 26, 1970) is an American songwriter, choir director, gospel singer, and rapper. He is best known for leading urban contemporary gospel ensembles such as The Family, God's Property, and One Nation Crew (1NC) ...
,
DaniLeigh
Danielle Leigh Curiel (born December 20, 1994), known professionally as DaniLeigh, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, dancer, and choreographer. Initially appearing as a backup dancer, Curiel began her career by posting covers of popul ...
,
BJ the Chicago Kid and Gwen Bunn. A deluxe edition of the album, with six additional tracks, was released on November 13, 2020, which included additional guest appearances from
Rapsody
Marlanna Evans (born January 21, 1983), better known by her stage name Rapsody, is an American rapper. Her second album, ''Laila's Wisdom'' (2017), which was critically acclaimed, received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Rap Album and Be ...
, Ty Brasel, as well as labelmates
Andy Mineo
Andrew Aaron Mineo (born April 17, 1988), is an American Christian hip hop artist, producer, music executive, and video director based in New York City. He is signed to Reach Records and his creative initiative Miner League. In addition to ...
,
Hulvey
Christopher Michael Hulvey (born January 13, 1999), known professionally by his surname Hulvey, is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut studio album ''Christopher'' debuted and peaked at no.8 on the Bil ...
, WHATUPRG,
Wande and 1K Phew. The album peaked at No. 1 on the US
Christian Albums
Top Christian Albums is a weekly chart published in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the best-performing Christian albums in the United States. Like the ''Billboard'' 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly ...
chart and No. 5 on the UK Christian & Gospel Albums chart. It received universal critical acclaim. It also received a
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song nomination at the
63rd Annual Grammy Awards
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held in and around the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles on March 14, 2021. It recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, running from September 1, 201 ...
for the song "Sunday Morning".
Background
Lecrae announced the album along with a new upcoming book, ''I Am Restored: How I Lost My Religion but Found My Faith'', in February 2020. Lecrae subsequently left
Columbia Records and returned to being a fully independent artist.
During the several years prior to the album's release, Lecrae had struggled with
clinical depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Intro ...
, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and marital problems, and considered abandoning Christianity.
He attributes much of this to trauma he encountered in his childhood,
trauma which resurfaced when he started facing relentless criticism from many Christians.
After a trip to
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
with a group of Christian hip hop artists, including labelmate
Andy Mineo
Andrew Aaron Mineo (born April 17, 1988), is an American Christian hip hop artist, producer, music executive, and video director based in New York City. He is signed to Reach Records and his creative initiative Miner League. In addition to ...
as well as
FLAME
A flame (from Latin '' flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...
,
Derek Minor
Derek Johnson, Jr., better known by his stage name Derek Minor and former stage name PRo, (born December 16, 1984) is an American Christian hip hop artist, singer, record producer, entrepreneur, actor, and screenwriter. He co-founded the hip-hop ...
,
Canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
, and Spechouse, which included the group being baptized in the
Jordan River, Lecrae was restored in his faith.
He also went to therapy and repaired his relationship with his wife.
Promotion
On March 20, 2020, Lecrae released the album's lead single "Set Me Free" featuring
YK Osiris
Osiris Jahkail Williams (born September 7, 1998), known professionally as YK Osiris, is an American rapper and singer from Jacksonville, Florida. He initially gained popularity with the release of his songs "I'm Next (Freestyle)" and "Valentine" ...
. On June 24, 2020, the second single "Deep End" was released. On July 17, 2020, the third single "Drown" featuring
John Legend
John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Eve ...
was released.
Conceptual theme
Lecrae has stated that the theme of the album is about mending what is broken, both as an individual and in society, and finding holistic restoration and healing, particularly from God.
He told ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' that "I think a lot of times we're looking for where that restoration can come from and we're missing the reality that we have the God-given ingenuity and the light in us to do the work that we want to see done in society and in the world. I believe that's possible. I've sat in therapist chairs. I've done meditation. I believe holistically we can be restored, regardless of our circumstances. That's the heartbeat of the album."
In an interview with ''
The Christian Post
''The Christian Post'' is an American non-denominational, conservative, evangelical Christian online newspaper. Based in Washington, D.C., it was founded in March 2004.
News topics include the Church, ministries, missions, education, Christ ...
'', he said that "God is more perfect than I am and there's nothing we can do to make Him love us more or less. There's no situation that we're in that He's not wanting to help us through."
Critical reception
Neil Z. Yeung from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
rated the album four-and-a-half stars out of five and considered it the best album of Lecrae's career.
Scott Fryberger of Jesus Freak Hideout gave the album 4 stars out of 5, praising the theme, sound and lyrics of the album. He also praised Lecrae for his vulnerability on the album by saying "Lecrae's journey through hell and back is inspirational and relatable, and the music it's paired with is some of his best work in years".
Tess Schoonhoven of ''
American Songwriter
''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
The ''American Songwri ...
'' rated the album 4.5 out of 5. They were of the opinion that the feature credits on ''Restoration'' rendered it more multi-dimensional than 2018's ''
Let the Trap Say Amen
''Let the Trap Say Amen'' is a collaborative studio album by American rapper Lecrae and American record producer Zaytoven, released on June 22, 2018, through Reach Records. The album features guest appearances from Waka Flocka Flame, K-So Jaynes, ...
'', and remarked that it "sheds a surprising and approachable light into the niche genre
f Christian hip hop.
Track listing
Sample credits
* "Set Me Free" contains a sample from "
Shackles (Praise You)
"Shackles (Praise You)" is the debut single by American gospel singer-songwriter duo Mary Mary, released on February 29, 2000, in the United States. It is considered the group's signature song. Stan North of GospelFlava.com deemed it one of the p ...
" performed by
Mary Mary and interpolations from "Same Old Story" written and performed by TQ Dat Mayne featuring B.B. King
* "Deep End" contains a sample from "Deep End" performed by John Summit and interpolations from "Deep End Freestyle" written and performed by
Sleepy Hallow and
Fousheé
Britanny Fousheé (born August 1, 1992), known professionally as Fousheé, is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from New Jersey. She came to wide notice when the vocals for her song "Deep End" were used on a hit song by rapper Sleepy H ...
* "Zombie" contains a sample from "We're Blessed" performed by
Fred Hammond
Frederick William Hammond (born December 27, 1960) is an American gospel singer, bass guitar player, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most popular figures in contemporary gospel music. He is known for using a variety of differe ...
& Radical for Christ and interpolations from "
I'm 'n Luv (wit a Stripper)" written and performed by
T-Pain featuring
Mike Jones
* "Keep Going" contains interpolations from "Celebrate More" written and performed by
116,
Andy Mineo
Andrew Aaron Mineo (born April 17, 1988), is an American Christian hip hop artist, producer, music executive, and video director based in New York City. He is signed to Reach Records and his creative initiative Miner League. In addition to ...
&
Hulvey
Christopher Michael Hulvey (born January 13, 1999), known professionally by his surname Hulvey, is an American Christian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. His debut studio album ''Christopher'' debuted and peaked at no.8 on the Bil ...
featuring Lecrae
Charts
References
{{Authority control
Lecrae albums
2020 albums
Reach Records albums