Rapper Lecrae signs with US major Columbia Records

AMERICA'S biggest record label and home of Adele, Beyonce, One Direction and Pharrell Williams, Columbia Records, have signed rapper Lecrae. After a decade of success with Reach Records, the Christian hip-hop label he founded, the Grammy and Dove-winning artist has signed a deal with the Sony label. With the new deal, Lecrae will continue to make music "in conjunction" with Reach. Commented Chad Horton, co-owner of the Christian hip-hop site Rapzilla, "[The deal]t will bring on things like radio airplay, larger tours, more featured placement on digital retailers and large playlists on services like Spotify and Apple Music. It will get him more into the mainstream areas that he has been trying to break into the last few years. Ultimately, I think it is both a branding and financial move for not only him but the entire Reach Records label roster." Reach Records' roster includes popular rappers such as Trip Lee, Tedashii and Andy Mineo.

News of the Columbia deal came hours after Lecrae announced that his new book Un-Ashamed, has made The New York Times bestseller list. Christianity Today website have speculated that there will be some rap fans accusing Lecrae of "selling out" by teaming up with a secular label. The rapper has already commented on such sellout accusations. On his latest mixtape 'Church Clothes 3', which debuted at number one on the Billboard rap charts in January, the track "Sidelines" he raps "Biz busy on the boards/I hear 'em cheering from the sidelines/Wait, hold up, I think they hatin'/ People told me take my time, right?/ Nah, they tired of waitin'/They say 'Crae, you sold your soul, man'/For real? Who bought it?/'Let the Spirit take control, man'/I don't go nowhere without him."