Lecrae signs deal with Columbia Records

Left to Right: Joel Klaiman Executive Vice President and General Manager of Columbia Records, Ben Washer Co-­‐Owner/CEO of Reach Records, Lecrae, and Rob Stringer Chairman and CEO of Columbia Records.

Credit: Melissa Ruggieri

Credit: Melissa Ruggieri

Left to Right: Joel Klaiman Executive Vice President and General Manager of Columbia Records, Ben Washer Co-­‐Owner/CEO of Reach Records, Lecrae, and Rob Stringer Chairman and CEO of Columbia Records.

Atlanta’s Lecrae has signed a deal with Columbia Records.

While the engaging hip-hop star earned his initial success in the Christian music world, the No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 album chart of 2014's "Anomaly" album and No. 1 appearance on the rap/hip-hop chart with his "Church Clothes 3" mixtape in January indicates his mainstream appeal.

Lecrae’s deal with the major label is in conjunction with his own imprint, Reach Records, on which he’s released seven studio albums.

Lecrae's commitment to redemption through positive change is explored in his new memoir, "Unashamed" (my colleague Sheila Poole spoke to him recently about the book – check back next week for her story), which is available now.

Throughout his career, Lecrae, who moved to Atlanta from Texas in 2008 , has garnered a pair of Grammy Awards, shared stages with Common, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole and headlined his own spate of tours.

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