Lecrae “Church Clothes 4” Album Review

Church Clothes 4

Lecrae

• • Genre: Christian
  • Date: 04 Nov, 2022
  • Content: Not-explicit
  • Region: USA
  • Track(s): 13

• ℗ 2022 Reach Records

Nothing about “Church Clothes 4” resembles what you wear to church. The record is actually very enjoyable to listen to and is gritty, energetic, and exciting. It’s more akin to wearing your church clothes home after service, complete with coffee stains, a top with half the buttons undone, and dirty shoes.

“Church Clothes 4,” the final mixtape in the series by Lecrae, has 13 songs and contributions from artists including Andy Mineo, WHATUPRG, nobigdyl, Jon Keith, A.I. The Anomaly, and Jordan L’Oreal. Lecrae admits that he is “righteous but ratchet” in this final chapter of Church Clothes. His passion for hip-hop extends beyond Christian hip-hop, even though he utilizes it to help people grow in their faith.

Album Cover Art

 

Lecrae sits with the posture of one dejected and weighed down by problems that seem insurmountable. He sits there in almost-empty room in his torn suit outfit with his head hanging low and hair looking unkempt. A great depiction of the sincere realness contained on the record.

Tracks and Features

The album opens with “CCD” and a sermon snippet begins the track and may also be heard again at intervals. Lecrae pays tribute to people who have been victims of police brutality as he speaks on unity and his belief in the church. There’s a switch in the beat arrangement as the song gets more solemn and starts to fade. The next track, “Spread the OPPS,” contains the background vocals of a choir singing and harmonizing over a typical Hip-hop beat arrangement. They sing about the power of God while Lecrae raps about family, salvation, religion, resilience, love, and a host of other topics that border around caring and the consequences of crime and sin.

“Misconceptions,” the first song on the album with guest acts features Nobigdyl, Jon Keith and AI the Anomaly. The hardcore Hip-hop track sees the trio rap on the misconceptions of religion and true Christianity. The trio aim to speak against Hypocrites and the “fit-in” conundrum. They maintain that there’s a way true Christianity should be practiced. They also have it out for judgemental people. The beat and delivery are in sync with each other. Andy Mineo comes in on “Good Lord” and what a collaboration! The sax intro, the fantastic piano and string chords as well as the beat arrangement make it easy for the duo to flow smooth like butter. The hyping being done in background also add some spice to the general track composition.

“Take Me Up,” which features WhatupRG, begins with a smooth R&B intro and a background choir chant. Prayer, rehabilitation, love and the outstanding abilities of God amidst human struggles come into focus in the wordings of this song. The duo deliver almost to perfection. “Protect My Peace” features Jordan L’Oreal. Lecrae and Jordan jump on this Trap beat to pass a message on the importance of protecting one’s peace irrespective of life’s tall challenges. The background vocals are quite sonorous and the riffs are pretty catchy. Followership, love, belief, freewill and religion are other topics touched on by both artists. The piano chords that come in toward the end of the song beautifies the tune even more.

Lecrae and PJ Morton team up on “We did It.” Victory, the power of prayers, faith, gratitude, blessings and grace all make up the content of their lyrics as the duo share bits of their “grass to grace” stories. The harmonious background choir vocals take you straight to church. “Deconstruction” enters as the last track on the album. The R&B feel of the track, the hard bars in the rap, and the amazing beat arrangement easily make the track an emotional one as Lecrae talks about his focus on God and surrendering to him. He also speaks about the pain he carries and its effect on his mind coupled with all the judgement and discrimination he has had to face. The piano keys and the great background vocals also solemnly aid in conveying Lecrae’s message.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	TIME
1	CC4	1:47
2	Spread the Opps	3:01
3	Dirt	2:57
4	Still In America	3:21
5	Misconceptions 4 (feat. nobigdyl., Jon Keith & A.I. The Anomaly)	3:52
6	Good Lord (feat. Andy Mineo)	3:07
7	I-45 Freestyle	1:49
8	Take Me Up (feat. WHATUPRG)	3:11
9	Protect My Peace (feat. Jordan L’Oreal)	2:53
10	Fear Not	3:17
11	We Did It (feat. PJ Morton)	3:13
12	Journey	4:33
13	Deconstruction	4:09

Album Theme

Lecrae does a fantastic job of demonstrating to the world his self-assurance, blessings, gratitude for leaving a dark situation, and, subtly, wealth throughout Church Clothes 4. Lecrae occasionally mentions his religious convictions, but overall he comes across as sincere and sympathetic to Christians’ shortcomings.

Production Credits

Producers on the record include Ace Harris, Alex Goose, Andrew Prim, Andy Mineo, Carvello, Connor Back, CuBeatz, Curious George and many more.

Stream