Let’s go ahead and address the elephant in the room. Many DEHH fans were irritated by our “Is Christian Rap Relevant” and Lecrae’s “Church Clothes” webisodes, but we came to three bottom line points:
1. Dope music is dope music, regardless of the artists personal life and beliefs.
2. Lecrae’s lyrics and faith are entangled within each other.
3. We can cover whoever and whatever genre we want. That’s what makes DEHH unique and why you are here on the site right now.
With that being established, let’s try on Church Clothes 2.
Church Clothes 2 delivers with Lecrae’s lyrical prowess and production. Similar to the first Church Clothes, it feels like a ride directed by Don Cannon and Lecrae. Lecrae shows the hypocritical relationship between record labels and artist with “Sell Out”. It makes you wonder if the conversation that Lecrae was having with the label rep was mocking one that he has had with a label or an actual conversation with one? Lecare and Derek Minor really prick the hearts of fathers with “Was It Worth It”. Lecrae also brings one of his best tracks ever with the compassionate “Hang On” which reflects accountability and life.
The features were hit or miss. WLAK did a great job on the Church Clothes 2 posse cut “Misconception 2”. Shout out to Dre Murray with his wordplay on the G.O.O.D. Music bar as well. Surprisingly, B.O.B. gave one of the best features with his verse on “Round of Applause”. They really complimented each other well on that track. The Paul Wall feature was a miss. I can appreciate the analogy of life being a car and you should be happy with what “model” and condition you are, but Paul Wall contradicted the concept and created a “flat tire” on the track.
Overall, this was a good mixtape, but not as great as Church Clothes 1. Why? Lecare puts more attention on his critics than on his concept. A true fan can see that the critics (maybe even DEHH included) were on his mind on various verses and tracks. With that being said, Church Clothes 2 is a good listen and enough to get me dressed for the occasion again.
The opinions and views expressed here are the opinions of the designated author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or views of any of the individual members of Dead End Hip Hop.