Lecrae: Then And Now

Lecrae is pulling back the curtain on the stories behind his most powerful and popular songs.

Known for blending raw honesty with spiritual depth, he has built a career on music that challenges, comforts, and inspires.

The Grammy-winning artist, who rose to become one of hip‑hop’s most influential voices, made a visit to the VIBE offices for our Then And Now series to break down key selections in his discography.

Reflecting on the tracks that cut closest to his own life, he explains, “The three most personal songs I’ve made to date are definitely ‘Cry for You,’ which was on All Things Work Together. Probably ‘I’ll Find You,’ which is also on All Things Work Together, and then ‘If I Die Tonight,’ which is on my Church Clothes mixtape.”

In this image released on October 01, 2024 Lecrae attends the 55th Annual GMA Dove Awards at Lipscomb Allen Arena on October 01, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images

He continued, adding, “The first two songs are just me articulating how much pain I’m in. The last one is where I’m just anticipating if I die and what I want to say to my kids and my wife. What I want to say to my family, and to my fans. That’s probably the most personal songs [that] I’ve written.”

Through these deeply vulnerable records, Lecrae continues to show why his voice remains essential in both hip‑hop and faith‑centered music.

Lecrae sat down with VIBE for our Then And Now series and took a deep dive into the essential tracks from his catalog.

“I’ll Find You” featuring Tori Kelly

“Tori is the little sis, man. Working on I’ll Find You with her was a blessing because she had looked up to me, she loved what I was doing, and she was also this burgeoning pop star. For us to link up was dope because we both shared the same faith and the same passion for music. The idea was to make something great—something that spoke to the world at large, not just the faith community but everybody. It felt like we accomplished that. We made that song, it became a hit, and I can’t thank her enough, man. That’s my little sis.

There’s a difference between showing and telling. To tell somebody is to say, ‘I’m sad today.’ But to show them you’re sad takes more effort. Like, how do I say I’m sad today and show you in music? How do I say the sun isn’t shining, the paper in front of me is stained with tears? I’ve got to show you I’m sad.

So sometimes that’s harder for me because now I’ve got to kind of relive some of those moments to do that. And I think “I’ll Find You” was one of those songs for me that was really tough. I redid it seven times because at first I was just telling people, ‘My DJ died. I’m struggling right now. I’ve got issues with this happening over here. I’ve got issues over here.’ I was just telling people. But it was like, ‘Nah, you’ve got to go back and rewrite that and show us the pain you’re experiencing.’ It was hard to relive those moments and put it out there.

I think what helped me get through that process, honestly, is what I call being integrated—fully integrated and known. Because a lot of us are not really known. No one knows us for real, you know? We let people in a little bit, but we don’t really let people in. I’ve got a big circle where people kind of know me. I’ve got another inner circle where people know me more. But then I’ve got an inner–inner circle, and they know me. And I needed that inner–inner circle. You know what I mean? That circle where nothing is off the table—they know everything that’s going on.

That’s the circle that’s going to come visit me in prison. They say that’s the group that would help you bury the body—but they’re so good to me, they’re not going to help me bury the body. They’re going to tell me, ‘Bro, you don’t need to kill nobody, period. We’re going to be with you before you pull that trigger or pull that knife out.’ That’s what got me through that time.”

“Comin in Hot” with Andy Mineo

“Coming in Hot is a song I did with Andy Mineo, and it just took over social media. We had no idea. Kim Kardashian, Will Smith—everybody’s used the song. It’s crazy. And the funny part about it is that it was just a song we made for a joint tour we were going to do together. We were like, ‘Yo, Better Late Than Never is the name of the tour. Let’s make a song together for this tour.’

I was in L.A. at the time, and he was in San Diego, and he was like, ‘Hey, let’s get in the studio and work on this song.’ And I’m literally sitting next to Snoop Dogg at Jamie Foxx’s house at this event, and I’m like, I’m about to leave and drive to San Diego because this is the only chance I’m going to get to work on this song. Snoop requested that I leave the house because it was about to get a little crazy, and I said, ‘Thank you, Uncle Snoop, for the fair warning.’

I jumped in the car, drove two hours to San Diego, and we got in the studio and knocked it out in a couple hours. Then I went on about my life and never expected it to become the massive song that it is today.”

“Blessings” featuring Ty Dolla $ign

“That song was the first one I began working on when I did my partnership with Columbia. I don’t think I’ve ever told this story, but the song was actually meant for me and Jeremih. Jeremih and I had talked about it, we already had the hook written, and he was going to do it. I went out to Malibu to work on the song with him, but he had something come up and couldn’t make the session.

Meanwhile, one of the A&Rs at Columbia Records didn’t know Jeremih was supposed to be on it and had sent it to Ty Dolla $ign. Ty heard it and hit back saying, ‘I love this song so much. I want to do the hook and a verse.’ I got back, all disappointed because Jeremih couldn’t come through, and they were like, ‘Don’t even worry about it. Ty Dolla $ign said he’s about to cut the record.’ And I was like, ‘You lying.’

Me and Ty connected, and he said, ‘Bro, I love this record so much—it’s crazy.’ The song went on to be a Top 10 hit on radio, and the rest is history.”

“Your Power” featuring Tasha Cobbs Leonard

“Your Power won a Grammy. I did the song with Tasha Cobbs [Leonard]. Zaytoven and I had previously done a mixtape project together called Let the Trap Say Amen. Tasha heard it and was like, ‘Man, I’m rocking with this.’ I said, ‘Oh, Tasha got a little hood in her. We’ve got to do something then. We’ve got to make a record together.’ She said, ‘I would love to do something like that.’

So I was just trying to find the right record—something that would make sense, that would speak to her audience, which is a traditional gospel audience, and then my audience, which is more in the rap space. When we found that record, I was like, ‘I got the one, Tasha,’ and sent it over to her. She was like, ‘Oh, this is it.’

So she laid her vocals, sent them back, and the rest was history, man. I knew it was going to be a special song. It was done in time for me to put it on Church Clothes, but I left it off intentionally because I felt like it needed its own moment. And it definitely got its own moment. We won a Grammy.”

“Still Here”

“I’m just articulating that I’m still here as a person who’s been through a lot of pain and trauma. I’m also articulating that God is still here. Even if you’ve been through hell and back, he’s still here. He’s still got you. And it’s just kind of a warm-up because I’m getting into that season where I’m putting out new music and getting ready for the album. So “Still Here” was like a warm-up record—like, ‘Let me throw something out there to let them know I’m still here and to stay tuned.’”

Sharing His Testimony With Prison Inmates

“I love going into the prison system. It’s just something that has always been a passion for me since my early days going to the juvenile detention center. Some of it has to do with seeing so many of my family members, as a kid, going in and out of the prison system—my dad, my uncles, my cousins. And yeah, it was a big piece of my journey and my story.

I know how people can feel lost, forgotten, and uncared for. So I wanted to go in there and let them know, ‘Hey, God is still here, and we’re still here. We still see you.’ Even though they may feel like the world has turned them off and thrown them away, we’re still here—we still see them.”

“Lift Me Up” with BEAM, Alexxander

“So, I always love doing that, and I release that record to them first—before I release it anywhere else—on their tablets and in the prison systems, before I put it out for the world. It’s kind of like the first single off my album Reconstruction. Lift Me Up is like the early stages of what it looks like to be reconstructed. First you’ve got to ask, ‘Okay, God, I’m about to trust you again. You got me? Will you lift me up in the hard times?’

The record is with me and Beam, and Beam is an amazing artist who’s written for everybody and featured with everybody from Beyoncé to Justin Bieber—everyone. Beam had written the hook and got the production ready for Kanye. Kanye was on his Jesus Is King vibe at that time. But then Kanye took a left, and the record was just sitting there because he was like, ‘I can’t use this.’

So Beam said, ‘There’s nobody else I can imagine using this record but you.’ We locked in and worked on it, and man—the rest is history.”

“Tell the World” featuring Mali Music

“Tell the World is a song I did with Mali Music, and Mali and I were kind of on the same page. We were like these hybrid artists. They were like, ‘Is [Mali] R&B? Is he gospel? What is he? He’s writing songs for Jennifer Hudson. What category do you put him in?’ And I felt like we were kindred spirits in the sense that we defy categories. So it was only right that we connected and worked on something.

When we put that record together, it was, ‘Let’s just make something that’s really dope but also articulates and expresses our faith. We can just show off and showcase that.’ We didn’t know it was going to be a big record—we had no idea. We just made it, and people gravitated to it, and it became the biggest song on that album.”

Watch Lecrae: Then And Now below.