Most Popular Christian Rappers

Lecrae onstage with arms crossed.

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Since the beginnings of Christian rap in 1985, the genre has expanded to include all of the styles found in mainstream rap (East Coast, West Coast, Dirty South, and so on). However, the style is where the similarities end.

Christian rap, or Gospel hip hop, glorifies Jesus. Secular rap spends a great deal of lyrical time dedicated to partying and living a life for oneself.

There are many popular Christian rappers who are superstars of the genre.

Thi'sl

Thi'sl standing in front of a backdrop at a music awards event.

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Travis "Thi'sl" Tyler has a mission: to make his biblical knowledge meet real people in their current realities.

For a man who lived the "street life" as a teen, he knows only too well how bad reality can get. Drugs, bad neighborhoods, losing a loved one to murder — he has survived it all.

Albums

  • "Against All Odds" 2016
  • "Heavy Is The Head" 2015
  • "Fallen King" 2014
  • "Free From The Trap" 2012
  • "Beautiful Monster" 2011
  • "Chronicles of an X-Hustler" 2009
  • "This House I Shall Live" 2007

Andy Mineo

Andy Mineo posing for a promotional photo.

Zeekatstrat/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0

By the time he entered high school, Andy Mineo (formerly known as C-Lite) was already well-known in the New York rap scene. He was known as an MC and the owner of a lucrative recording studio.

By the time he started college, he had it all: money, fame, and the sin that came with it all. Hearing "Price Tag" by Da T.R.U.T.H. was a turning point for the young rapper. He shut down his recording studio and found his identity in Christ. He joined the T.R.U.C.E. ministry and traveled with them to share the Gospel in some of the most poverty-stricken and drug-infested neighborhoods in the U.S.

Albums

  • "Uncomfortable" 2015
  • "Never Land" 2014
  • "Heroes For Sale" 2013
  • "Saturday Morning Car-Tunez" 2012
  • "Formerly Known" 2011
  • "In My City" 2010
  • "Sin Is Wack, Vol. 1, 2009" (recorded under the name C-Lite)

Manafest

Manafest "Reborn" album cover.

Photo from Amazon

Toronto's Chris Greenwood (Manafest) started rapping professionally in 2001 after an injury ended his skateboarding career. His mixture of rock and rap has been popular, winning awards and delivering number one songs.

Albums

  • "Ashes" 2017
  • "Reborn" 2015
  • "The Moment" 2014
  • "Fighter" 2012
  • "Live In Concert" 2011
  • "The Chase" 2010
  • "Citizens Activ" 2008
  • "Glory" 2006
  • "Epiphany" 2005
  • "My Own Thing" 2003

Lecrae

Lecrae performs live on stage next to Koryn Hawthorne.

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When Lecrae Moore was 19-years-old, he heard a message that changed his life. Seven years later, he co-founded ReachLife Ministries, extending the reach of his ministry well beyond Dallas, Texas.

Albums

  • "Church Clothes, Vol. 3" 2016
  • "Anomaly" 2014
  • "Church Clothes, Vol. 2" 2013
  • "Gravity" 2012
  • "Church Clothes (mix tape)" 2012
  • "Rehab: Deluxe Edition" 2011
  • "Rehab: The Overdose" 2011
  • "Rehab" 2010
  • "Rebel" 2008
  • "After The Music Stops" 2006
  • 'Real Talk" 2004

TobyMac

TobyMac performs live onstage.

Webgirljess/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 4.0

Father of five, husband, record label executive, author — these are only a few of the hats that the multiple Dove and Grammy Award-winning artist known as TobyMac wears.

With 11 million albums sold thus far, he is one of the most well-known and beloved Christian rappers.

Albums

  • "This Is Not A Test" 2015
  • "Eye On It" 2012
  • "Dubbed & Freq'd: A Remix Project" 2012
  • "Christmas in Diverse City" 2011
  • "Tonight" 2010
  • "Alive & Transported" 2008
  • "Portable Sounds" 2007
  • "Renovating Diverse City" 2005
  • "Welcome to Diverse City" 2004
  • "Re: Mix Momentum" 2003
  • "Momentum" 2001

KB

KB standing a a podium talking to reporters.

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Kevin Elijah Burgess (KB) had a normal childhood until he reached the age of 8, the year his parents got divorced and things started falling apart.

By the time he was 16, his life was in such turmoil that he was invited to participate in a special school program geared towards getting him back on the right path. He realized that he was not right with God and his sin was eating him alive.

Depression turned to thoughts of suicide, but a friend with a passion for Christian rap helped Burgess turn towards God. The friend turned his life around in the process.

Albums

  • "Tomorrow We Live" 2015
  • "100" 2014
  • "Weight & Glory" 2012
  • "Who Is KB?" 2011

KJ-52

KJ-52 performing live at an outdoor concert.

Jeremy Nicholson/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

For over a decade, the Dove Award-winning artist known to the world as KJ-52 has been making music and touching lives.

Albums

  • "Mental" 2014
  • "Dangerous" 2012
  • "Five Two Television" 2009
  • "The Yearbook: The Missing Pages" 2008
  • "The Yearbook" 2007
  • "Remixed" 2006
  • "Behind the Musik" 2005
  • "Soul Purpose" 2004
  • "It's Pronounced Five Two" 2003
  • "Collaborations" 2002
  • "7th Avenue" 2000

Trip Lee

Trip Lee (L) performs on stage with Tedashii at the Annual Dove Awards.

Rick Diamond/Staff/Getty Images

Otherwise known as William Lee Barefield III, Trip Lee is a husband, father, pastor, and author.

Signed to Reach Records while still in high school and mentored by Lecrae, he was a founding member of 116 Clique, who saw his solo debut release hit stores days after his graduation.

After a successful run that included two Dove nominations and a Stellar Award, Lee announced that he was leaving music in October of 2012 in order to follow God's call to be a pastor full-time.

Albums

  • "The Waiting Room" 2016
  • "Rise" 2014
  • "The Good Life" 2012
  • "Between Two Worlds" 2010
  • "20/20" 2008
  • "If They Only Knew" 2006

Group 1 Crew

The members of Group 1 Crew performing on stage.

mindysue12/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 2.0

Manwell Reyes is the face and voice of the award-winning Group 1 Crew. Originally formed with Pablo Villatoro and Blanca Reyes Callahan after the three met at a Bible study group, they have been compared to the mainstream group Black Eyed Peas as a talent with a strong message of faith.

Albums

  • "Power" 2016
  • "Fearless" 2012
  • "Outta Space Love: Bigger Love Edition" 2012
  • "Outta Space Love" 2010
  • "Spacebound EP" 2010
  • "Movin' - The EP" 2009
  • "Ordinary Dreamers" 2008
  • "No Plan B EP" 2007
  • "Group 1 Crew" 2007
  • 'I Have A Dream EP" 2006

Bobby Bishop

The Hip-Hop Alternative by Bobby Bishop album cover.

Photo from Amazon

From a young age, Bobby Bishop had a love for Christian rap music. From listening to writing to recording, his journey took him through high school and college and on to the big stage.

His first national release hit stores in 2005. This father of two and social worker by day hasn't slowed down since.

Albums

  • "Fingernails" 2014
  • "This Is Life" 2013
  • "Community Music (EP)" 2008
  • "One Shot" 2006
  • "Government Name" 2005
  • "The Hip-Hop Alternative (Community's Call)" 2003
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Jones, Kim. "Most Popular Christian Rappers." Learn Religions, Sep. 6, 2021, learnreligions.com/christian-rappers-709796. Jones, Kim. (2021, September 6). Most Popular Christian Rappers. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/christian-rappers-709796 Jones, Kim. "Most Popular Christian Rappers." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/christian-rappers-709796 (accessed March 28, 2024).