The Rundown: Lecrae, Anomaly
A track-by-track look at the Christian hip hop MC's latest.
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The Rundown: Lecrae, Anomaly - Lecrae continues to shed his positive light on hip hop, encouraging other artists to take a moral responsibility with their rhymes dealt to precocious children — not preachy, just dropping truths many choose to ignore. Check out a track-by-track breakdown of the gospel MC's seventh album, Anomaly. —Michael Harris (@IceBlueVA)(Photo: Reach Records)
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"Outsiders" - Lecrae kicks off his seventh album knowing exactly where he stands and has no fears about going against the grain. His message is clear as he spits, "Even if it doesn't fit in the box that'll please these folks/ Some of y'all gonna need these quotes/ I ain't tryna eat, I'm tryna feed these folks/ Martin, Mandela, yeah we need these folks/ We believe these folks, we can be these folks."(Photo: Angela Weiss/BET/Getty Images for BET)
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"Welcome to America" - The struggles of growing up in America are highlighted here as Lecrae lays out the ups and owns of the land of the free. Showcasing his storytelling ability, Lecrae kicks it from three perspectives: a Black man trying to find his way, a soldier fighting for our freedoms, and an immigrant risking life to cross the border. It ain't all sweet as he rhymes, "Though America ain’t feeling me I went to war for this country/ Turn around came home and you get rid of me/ When y’all free here saying you don’t wanna be here/ Well you probably couldn't breathe here if I didn’t load a couple magazines here/ Y’all just complain in America."(Photo: Ben Horton/Getty Images for BET)
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"Say I Won't," Featuring Andy Mineo - Andy Mineo rocks out with the "Church Clothes" MC here as they go bar for bars that can surpass some of your favorite rappers filling the game with poison. Having really ran the streets before finding Christ, Lecrae shares his transition with, "When I was younger, I just wanted a chain/ Now a chain of events has afforded a change/ See, I been a rebel since back in the day, I don't follow the people/ I follow the leader through valleys and shadows of death and I fearing no evil."(Photo: Bennett Raglin/BET/Getty Images, Anna Webber/Getty Images for BET)
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"Nuthin'," Featuring Dimitri McDowell - Dimitri McDowell lays the hook and Gawvi wrecks the boards as Lecrae challenges his fellow MCs talking about "Nuthin'" to start inspiring the youngstas and stop lying so much with their music. Holding a mirror to hip hop's face, he challenges the game with verses like, "And every song talking 'bout they selling work on every corner/ Don't talk about the laws, taking kids away from mommas."(Photo: Reach Records)
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"Fear" - Lecrae has never claimed to be perfect and bares his insecurities here as he too deals with life's temptations. "When I say I pledge allegiance to the struggle/ Then I turn around and buckle/ Under stress and under pressure/ Bible on my dresser that can teach my pain a lesson/ But I rather not address it."(Photo: Cooper Neill/Getty Images for BET)
Photo By Photo: Cooper Neill/Getty I
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"Anomaly" - Lecrae's title track is dedicated to the outcasts who forge their own path. Calling for responsibility and for true leaders to emerge, he rhymes, "Before I heard all of these boring bars / Money, money, money, sex, drugs, and some 4NRs... / But dig a little deeper and you'll find another insecure man sitting in a two seater/ The same little boy that got beat up... / With plenty pains in his past you can bring up/ Nobody ever told him he could be more than he is, but inside he's a leader."(Photo: Angela Weiss/BET/Getty Images for BET)
Photo By Photo: Angela Weiss/BET/Getty Images for BET
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"Timepiece" - In a time when the pursuit of material possessions outweighs morals and values, Lecrae advises you to listen to the inner soul that knows right from wrong because there will be a judgment day. He drives this point home with bars like, "On the corners, in the alleys/ I see coners and cowards scared to question their existence like ain't no final hour."(Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images for BET)
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"Dirty Water" - Lecrae spazzes out over this Derek Minor production as he summons people to live righteous and the journey starts one day at a time. "First of all, I know it ain't a song that's gon' change the world/ There's no way/ It's not a guilt trip, it's a field trip that's gon' last more than one day."(Photo: John Ricard / BET)
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"Wish" - Life is filled with regrets and Lecrae ponders a few mishaps he wishes he could do-over including getting time back with his pops who fell victim to drugs. He ponders over the S1 track, "I wish I never held back/ Wish nobody had to sell crack/ Then I may have seen my dad a little more/ Maybe I can dream a little more/ But I still wishing on stars in the sky."(Photo: John Ricard / BET)
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"Runners" - Lecrae tackles infidelity here and the hassles it causes in relationships. With temptation always lurking, he warns, "It ain’t nothing like a good woman/ If you got you one of those be good to ‘em/ Keep it one hundred/ Love, everybody want it but the lies and the lust keep lying next to us."(Photo: Leon Bennett/BET/Getty Images for BET)
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"All I Need Is You" - Lecrae takes a moment and serenades his wife with the ride or die cut "All I Need Is You." Professing his love for his better half who stuck with him through the highs and lows, he declares, "You ain't gotta question my allegiance/ 'Cause the way you love me, I could never leave ya/ I need ya."(Photo: John Ricard / BET)
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"Give In," Featuring Crystal Nicole - Lecrae and Crystal Nicole pay homage to their savior and aren't afraid to share their testimonies on the track. Praising the most high, the gospel lyricist proclaims, "They laugh at me and say I’m going too far/ But it’s satisfying my soul to give you my all/ They don’t understand what I got, it’s so real/ They can talk about me, they can kick me out, but can’t take away what you give."(Photos from left: Bennett Raglin/BET/Getty Images, Prince Williams/FilmMagic)
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"Good, Bad, Ugly" - The faith-based MC bares his soul here as he discusses being molested by his teenage female babysitter at 8 and having his girlfriend abort their baby while a teen. Life as a shorty shouldn't be so rough. "Had my innocence just stripped from me, I still don't know how to feel/ And I'm wondering how to address it/ Can't tell my family, too messy."(Photo: John Ricard / BET)
Photo By John Ricard / BET
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"Broken," Featuring Kari Jobe - Gospel songstress Kari Jobe sits in with Lecrae on "Broken" as they call on God to walk them though their imperfect lives. Stressing that everyone has sinned and needs the Father to walk beside them, the Anomaly speaks truths like, "Majoring in the minors like there ain’t no errors behind us/ Somehow we still mix these melodies with my felonies/ I ain’t buying nothing they selling me/ What you telling me/ Broken pieces acting like we ain’t cracked/ But we all messed up and can’t no one escape that."(Photos from left: Daniel Boczarski/Getty Images, Terry Wyatt/Getty Images)