Lecrae Drops Another Classic! Posted August 20, 2020 By DwayneLacy_NRT, Staff Reviewer
What You Need to Know: Lecrae Moore is one of the most influential artists in Christian Hip Hop whether he accepts the label or not. The last four or five years were a time of transition, questions, and downright extreme scrutiny from the Christian community. Seeing a share of disappointments, hurt, and failures of his own, Lecrae has been pretty candid on his social media platforms and in interviews. God has restored Lecrae in many areas and he is doing his best to restore communities through his work with Love Without Walls, visiting prisons and providing services, investing in Peace Preparatory Academy, and much more. Finally, the much anticipated, Restoration is finally here. There is a book dropping in October (available for pre-order on Amazon) and a documentary that recently dropped to coincide with the album. However, this album was worth the wait. Producers like Carvelo, S1 and Wu10 along with singers John Legend and Jozzy, were some of the ones involved to make this album.
What it Sounds Like: Restoration is one of Lecrae’s best bodies of work! It is an album full of songs that describe ways in which he was restored from hurtful things in his childhood to restoration from a very dark time a few years ago. Rest assured, there are some bangers! One of the great things about Lecrae leaving Columbia was the fact that he could go in the studio and make a song relevant to today’s hostile environment and not wait for clearance from the record company. That is just what happened with “Deep End”. This song was a therapeutic venting session where Lecrae airs out his frustrations with all that has happened with Ahmaud Arbury, George Floyd, protests, riots, etc. He talks of not going back to his old self, not losing his grip, and God reminding him that he is still holding on. I personally cried when I first heard this song because it was if he put down some of my thoughts in his rap. On “Wheels Up”, I loved the way Lecrae went light voice wise, but beastily in terms of his lyrics and flow! He and vocalist Marc E. Bassy were lockstep with the smooth flow and singing. “Keep Going” is a vibe; Carvelo drops that heater of a trap beat and Lecrae keeps it grimey.
Spiritual Highlights: Hope is one of the words I think of when hearing the album. Songs like “Set Me Free” and all too short, “Restore Me” show the joy of letting things go that were holding Lecrae down and he is here to give God praise for it! Real problems and a real God to help deal and help you succeed spreads throughout the album. “Only Human” features the butter vocals of R&B artist BJ the Chicago Kid. Lecrae spits of the loving God that walks Him through life despite his vices and flaws that almost took him out.
Best Song on the Record: “Sunday Morning” jams so hard!! The beat is hard! The vocals are on the hook, are on point and the message is just right. Please let your windows down and blast this song in these “quarantined streets.” Kirk Franklin comes at the end of the song to do a sobering spoken word to give even more meaning to this song, but the hook is the standout part of this song.
Final Word: Lecrae talks of retiring soon and hopefully he does not. However if Restoration is one of his last albums, he is going all out! Be prepared to be encouraged. Be prepared to reflect and please be prepared to jam the whole album and getting new favorites as time goes on. This is the album we needed in 2020!