December 21, 2025 • 30 mins
In this powerful and transparent episode of Keep It Positive, Sweetie, Crystal Renee Hayslett sits down with Grammy Award–winning artist, author, and thought leader Lecrae for a candid conversation rooted in truth and growth. Together, they unpack faith, identity, mental health, public scrutiny, and what it really means to live authentically—especially when your journey is unfolding in the public eye. With honesty, vulnerability, and mutual respect, this conversation creates space for healing, reflection, and hope, reminding listeners that purpose is often found on the other side of hard conversations.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Calling all my sweeties to the forefront. I'm your host,
Christern and this is the Keep It Positive, Sweetish Show.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I recently had the opportunity to interview Lacree at a
live event in Atlanta. We talked about faith and how
he uses his influence for something greater. Let's get into
that moment.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
How y'all feeling Atlanta? I got some sweeties in the house.
I'm so excited to be here today.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thank you guys for coming out. The next person I'm
calling to the stage. I've been on his podcast, The
Deep End, but I'm so excited to get to interview
him today.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
It's gonna be a conversation. It's not even an interview.
Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Together and get real, real loud from my brother Lucray.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
How you doing, y'all? Look good?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Y'all look good? Hey dude, y'all look good. Man, Look
at y'all. I love it. I love it.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Let's figure out how to sit here.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah I was. I was about to get down there
and do the electric slide.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
With them, but I you know, I didn't want to
be sweating before I got on stage.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Y I love it. I love it. How are you feeling.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
I'm great, man, I'm blessed. I can't complain.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
I know that's right, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Can't complain. I'm here sitting on your couch. It's my turn. Yeah,
I got.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
You in the hot seat now.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
But no, I'm really excited to talk to you today.
You are from Houston, Texas, Heystown.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Any Texans in the building, No Texans? All right, it's
all good, All right, there we go. Atlanta adopted me though,
so shout out to ATM.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
And our birthdays are nine days apart, October ninth and
October eighteenth, eight that's.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Our birthday birthday twins.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yes, yes, So on this inspiration celebration Sunday, I want
to talk about how you have become the one that
we all love, that we're big fans of. I remember
when we talked on your podcast, you said that you
didn't grow up in the church. So how did you
find yourself growing closer to God at that young age
in your twenties?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Well, yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
My mother was raised in church, and she was raising
a church that was a little too strict, so she
wasn't allowed to wear lipstick. She couldn't go to sporting events,
a lot of you know things like that, no pants, nothing,
So for her, it scarred her and she didn't want
me to be scarred. So she said, we're not gonna
(02:39):
do church because it messed me up. So I didn't
grow up in church. I just grew up kind of
just me and mom doing our thing. I loved music,
and she played music all the time, so I was
constantly listening to music and being creative. And my grandmother,
she was you know, I would stay with her in
(03:01):
the summers, and she had church on a patio and
so in the summertime, you know, she would have me
come to church on a patio with her from time
to time. So I understood a little bit about who
God was, but it didn't really click for me.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
And then when I got.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Into to school and just started going through some problems
and wrestles, it was like Grandma's voice was in the
back of my head.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Saying, come on home, baby, come on home.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
And that's when I, you know, had my spiritual transition transformation.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
And then man, I.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Just let God take the wheel and the music did
its own thing, and so here I am.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Here you are growing up looking back at young La Craye,
did you think you would ever be a disciple of Christ?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
No?
Speaker 1 (03:48):
No, what did you think back then? You were going
to be?
Speaker 3 (03:51):
I was in the streets. I was for the streets,
you know what I mean. I was for the streets.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
I'm looking out in the crowd, making sure I didn't
break hurt nobody feelings in this room, just checking.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
I don't know problems from That's the old me. Okay,
that's the old me. No, I really you know I was.
I was lost.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
I was just a wild individual. You know, I didn't know.
You know, who knows where I would have been? You know,
had it not been for God transforming me, who knows
where I would have been. I got three kids now,
I probably would have about twelve more.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Had it not been for Jesus, i'd.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
Have my own disciples, twelve disciples.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
But but yeah, man, God has been faithful. Man, He's
been good to me.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yes, I love that.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Now, through your music, you have effortlessly blended faith and culture.
How has evolving in this space changed how you look
at being a Christian artist? Because I've heard you talk
on different interviews about how you label yourself.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
How has that evolved? Over the years.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Yeah, I look at I look at the church as
like the greenhouse, and the greenhouse is great. You can
grow in there, it's safe. It's a bubble that's safe
for you to grow. But I came from the jungle,
and sometimes the greenhouse in the jungle don't communicate even
(05:19):
though there's a lot of similarities. It's plants we both
need to grow, you know. So I felt like I
needed to be a bridge from the greenhouse to the jungle.
And some people burn down bridges, but some people.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Walk across them. And my goal was for people to
be able to walk across.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
So I want to be able to have relationships with people,
you know, in the hip hop industry and the mainstream industry,
and then be that bridge so that if they may
never step foot inside of a church, they may never
step foot inside of, you know, any event that is
as God oriented. So I wanted to kind of beat
that bridge from the world to the church. And that's
(05:56):
kind of how I exist. So I don't do the labels.
If you want to label me, go for it. I'm
whatever you need me to be. But at the end
of the day, I'm a bridge from the Kingdom to
the culture.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yes, I know you've gotten a lot of backlash because
of that. How have you been able to just stand
ten toes down on who you are when even the
Christians are the ones saying d you know, because I
know the noise can get loud. How have you been
able to just stay true to who you are?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (06:21):
You know you sometimes you you got to own what
God has called you to be.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
And people have tried to cancel me, but you can't
cancel God's plans.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Can the church say? Amen, that's good?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
So so for me, I'm gonna be who I am
and be that consistently. And you don't always everybody's not
gonna understand your mission, but that's why it's your mission,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
And I and I understand that about myself in the
end of the day, I like that.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Okay, come on, now, come on, now, come on, now,
what were we talking about?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (07:00):
But you know, I'm following in the footsteps of the
greatest leader in the world. And he was misunderstood so
to the point that they killed him, crucified them, you
know what I mean. And so sometimes being who you
are called to be means you're going to be misunderstood.
But I don't want to waste time trying to explain
(07:20):
myself to people who are hell bent on misunderstanding me.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yes, so good.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I remember I did your podcast and I was in
a different space in my walk than I am today.
And I remember calling you afterwards because it was so
much in the comments and it didn't feel like the
Christian community was a safe space for me. And I
remember I text you. I was like, Bro, I was like,
these people are crucifying me, and he was like, yeah,
(07:47):
I forgot to tell you my fans can be a
little harsh, but I hope they're not living in glasshouses.
And that still rings true because a lot of times
we forget that, we all fall short, you know.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
And I remember that moment.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I was just like, I don't want to talk about
my walking more because I knew I was still working
on it.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I knew where I was trying to be, but I
wasn't there.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
And even in that small phrase that you said, it
reminded me of Whoever has, Whoever is without singeing cast
the first song, And when you said it, I.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Was like, you're right.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
A lot of these people are if they were living
in glasshouses, windows shattered, shattered. Yeah, so it has helped
me to walk in my truth. So I want to
thank you for that.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Oh no, absolutely, Listen. First of all, half of them
wish they was in your position. You know what I'm saying,
So cut it out. You hear me, cut it out.
And then the other thing about it is a lot
of people don't understand how difficult it is to grow
and to walk in the public eye.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Yes, you got your mess going on behind the scenes,
and nobody saw what you did and what you.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Said and where you was at last night.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Come on, but everybody knows, but you're trying to do
it in front of the world, and it's like, hey man,
cut me a break.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Yeah, it's crazy you said that because I thought about that.
Just even how we live our walk, we talk about
Christ out loud, and you you've been very outspoken about
your views on politics, the culture, the church, were like,
the church.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Community, everything, you name it.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
You've been very vocal about it, to the point where
it often puts a target on your back. Has there
ever been a time or an instance where you said
something and then you go home, Like, after seeing all
the comments in the backlash, I just wish I never
said anything.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Yesterday, tonight, tomorrow, you know the thing I've begun to
understand and learn. So so I'll tell you true story.
I've been in some situations where you know, I let
people who don't really love me, who don't really know me,
(09:59):
U create too much pressure on me. And and you know,
if you live for people's acceptance, she'll die from their rejection.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
So hey on my street, Yeah yeah, so so so
I let these voices that don't really know me, you know,
influence my attitude, my perspective.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
So sometimes we do say things that we were like, man,
I probably I probably I didn't think about that one.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
And and yes, we should be slow to speak and
quick to listen.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
So there's there's been plenty times where I've said something
where it's kind of like, hey, maybe I should have
I should have slowed.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Up, Like one particud.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
I'll never forget this particular instance where you know, this
woman just.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Really you know, she was very political and she just
you know, I was.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Talking about unarmed black people being killed in the street,
and she had her views, and she thought I was
being too political. And so on and so forth, and
I think, you know, something inside of me said, I
need her to know the me that doesn't get seen
(11:13):
on social media. I need her to see the version
of me that you know, Jesus still is working on.
And so I may have used some choice words to
address this woman via social media, and I thought to myself,
(11:33):
I said, you know what, I didn't have to do that.
As matter of fact, she didn't. She doesn't deserve, you know,
she doesn't deserve that level of engagement and interaction. I'm
wasting my time on this conversation. And so so I've
learned to just be quiet and let the people talk.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
That was a long answer to your question, but that
was it.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
No, that's good. That's good.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
We talk about the current state of the world, and
we're living in some scary times. It's like I'm reading
my Bible and I'm seeing things play out in real time.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
You know.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
But I wanted to ask you because for me, in
the past year, it feels like there has not been
a conversation where Christ didn't come up.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
You know.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
It's like everybody is seeking the Lord. They're trying to
find some type of hope or something to believe in
because everyone is just divided right now. But also Christians
have been turned away from the faith because of the Church.
What do you feel we can do as a Christian
community to make Christianity as safe.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Space again, that's a good question. Okay. So number one,
we can't get caught up in a cultural war, y'all.
We can't. Like it's going to be a culture.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
War going on out there where it's right verse left
or red verse blue, or whatever it may be. But
you can never choose the empire over the kingdom, right, don't,
because then the empire wins.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
That's how Satan operates.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
He don't care if the red or the blue wind,
as long as you are concerned with the empire and
not the kingdom. And so when we get so caught
up and everything going on, I'm not saying we don't fight,
we don't vote, we don't stand up for our rights.
But what I am saying is when we base our
hope on things outside of the Lord man, we're standing
(13:25):
on saying, that's gonna sink.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
And I've been there to where I blamed.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
God for all the chaos I saw instead of blaming
the broken people around me. Don't blame God for people hurts.
God didn't do that to you, then broken people did.
And He's the only one that's keeping you together in
the midst of the pain.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
So that'd be my encouragement for folks.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Going through I love that because I know a lot
of people are looking if that was great, A lot
of people are looking for hope, even me. I'm just
like seeking the face of God during this time. And
a lot I hear a lot of people saying I
love the Lord. I'm like, but you don't fear him,
you know. It's a difference, like preach him.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Talk to me. You love him, but you don't feelhim.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Huh. You don't fear him, you know.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
And I think as I've gotten into my Bible, I
hear his voice so loud. I can hear his anger
in the thunder. Like there's there's many times where I'm like,
I wake up and I'm.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Like you hear like, yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
And it's not to be scared of him, but to
just be And so in all that, you don't want
to let him down and you want to revere him
in such a way and you are so funny, keep going.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Come home.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
But I think that that is the thing that people
are missing, you know, They're like they're searching for It's
so much going on every time you turn the TV on.
I'm even I'm off a Instagram right now, and I
look around in the room and everybody's on their phone,
and it's like you can watch in real time. How
like everybody's like, oh my god, this happened, or they're laughing.
(15:10):
It's just like wandering aimlessly on Instagram, like so much
time is going by. But also how you can be like, oh, look,
this just happened and something that is like very graphic,
very disturbing. But we're so desensitized because it's like pushed
in our face so much every single day. And this
has been like the most free that I felt, just
(15:30):
being disconnected and just living life and being productive, enjoying
my piece.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
You know.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yeah, so you are known for your music. You did
your first studio album in two thousand and four, two
decades like you've.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Been in the game for a minute.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
I was a kid, You was a kid, but.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
You has grown now. How did you navigate what can
be called a niche lane? You know, because you.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I feel a lot of people are here two thousand
and four.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
That's a long time ago.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, to still be here and still relevant, which we're
gonna talk about in a second.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
But yeah, you know, I think part of it is.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Part of it is being curious. You know.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
I never My mother is seventy years old, and she's
her TikTok is more popping than mine is, you know,
because she's still curious, she's still engaged. I think a
lot of times we get older and we get stuck,
we just say I'm done. I don't have to think
about nothing else no more. I'm just going to live here.
(16:42):
But the world is going to keep on going. And
I'm not saying you got to keep up with every
trend and so on and so forth. But I do
think it's important to always stay learning. If you're not learning,
you're not growing. If you're not growing, you're dying, you
know what I'm like. Yeah, So for me, it's just
I just want to learn, and and part of learning
is staying connected to the culture, listening to younger artists,
(17:02):
listening to some stuff and saying that ain't for me,
but God bless you.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
And then just doing what I do. You know, in
the midst of it.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Was there a moment where you like, okay, got could
you know you get that shiny new thing and it's
like okay, what's next? Or wow, like I sacrificed so
much to get this was it worth it? How did
you feel in that moment? And did you have a
premonition like that?
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (17:25):
I think when you are so I think most successful
people you're probably attested this because you're very successfully in self.
Most successful people are fighting through some trauma, some brokenness.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah, because.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
There's something in you that is trying to prove or
validate some lies that have been told to you, or
fight through some lives event told you some insecurities.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
And that's what makes us push so so so hard.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Even if you look at David in the Bible, like
he was so amazing, but he was still the son
of Jesse who was the last one to be picked
to be king, and so he just you see that
trauma coming out in his lifetime. And so for me,
you know, it took me a while to see that
these shiny statues don't validate me. I was already somebody
(18:23):
before I got them.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Yes, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
I was fearfully and wonderfully made and these are the
evidence of how gracious and good God is and what
He's done to me. But these these are not what
defines me. And it took me a while to get there.
So when you first get them, they do become an
extension of your worth and value and like, yeah, I'm
somebody now.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
But as you grow you learn like this don't make me.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I make this no, absolutely, And you speak about we
all are fighting through trauma, you know, and as a
black man in the light, how have you been able
to deal and navigate your own trauma?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Therapy?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Come on, come on, man, a god, talk about it
because a lot of people I got Jesus, I don't
need therapy, Yes you do.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Let's talk about it.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
Let me tell you something, man, I'm being honest.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
All the folks out there who say I don't need therapy,
I got Jesus. Stop wearing your glasses, stop taking your
heart medicine, stop taking your insulin for your diabetes.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Stop exercising. You don't need it.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
You got Jesus, right, Yeah, So like, stop wearing the odorant.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
You got Jesus. You hear what I'm saying. It's ridiculous.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
There is a there was a brain in your head
and there are people who understand the human brain. If
you really dig deep, you can find Christian therapists who
understand your human head and your spirit at your heart
and do a unique work. And my therapist, we pray
and then we get to work, you know what I'm saying.
(20:08):
So therapy has really been the most transformable part of
me because it allowed me, like my therapist had me
one time, to just hey, let's just think about the
little boy that was being abused, that was being neglected,
and let's pray for that little boy that was you.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
And that was a powerful thing.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Like I know that boy is here now, but it
was a powerful thing to just go back and and
to wrestle that because a lot of us, especially as
black men, we think, well, we just got power through it.
You know what I'm saying. I'm just gonna power through it.
Be good, and I don't need nothing. And we're just
bottling up all of this, this this trauma. And we're
unhealthy men, and we are terrorizing our women with the
(20:50):
unhealth that is living.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Inside of us. And it's not fair to the women,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
And so and and women are having to settle for
unhealthy men which is ridiculou And that's why so many
single women now because they ain't.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Got time for your unhealthy foolishness. So get healthy. Come on,
you know what I'm saying now you preaching? Hey listen,
I got a daughter. Come on, I got time for this.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
That's real, that's real.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
You recently released your tenth solo album, Reconstruction.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Y'all can dreads together? Have y'all heard it? Have you
downloaded it?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
I appreciate all of y'all. I love all of y'all.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Yeah, download it right now.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
If you don't appreciate.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Y'all, and come see me at the Taper Neck on
November twenty third, come holl let me.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Hey. It is fire.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
It is my new gym workout album. It gets me
through the StairMaster. And that's the hardest part of being
like uh. But when I was telling you backstage, I
had started a fast earlier this month, and I was like,
oh la, Craye.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Has a new album out.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Because even with the music that I listen to, I'm
very very intentional about what I take in, especially when
i'm fasting. Because a lot of us have said it before,
we don't realize that music is a portal.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
It insights feelings, whether we realize it or not.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
So just preach what else you want to say. We listen.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
So I was driving down the road and it was
the song Bless You Lord, and that's literally I play
it over and over and over again. But it was
a part where you said I've done some things that
I cannot stomach, and I immediately I was like a
gut punch and I just immediately started crying. And it
was a realization that a lot of times, when we're
(22:31):
living out of the will of God, we're doing things
and not even realizing that it's detestable to him, you know,
and he's very disappointed and just thinking about his grace
and even like when you change your life, you look
back and like I cannot believe I was doing what me,
you know, and just the grace of God. It hit
me and I was just so grateful. But if it
(22:53):
had him in any other day, I was just been bopping.
But that day I was like, I was like, what
do you say? And so I kept listening to it.
But that whole album it feels like a public service announcement.
I feel like you're very deliberate, You're intentional and you're
letting us know we need to shake some things up.
(23:15):
You over here turning the tables over, and it's time
let's talk about the inspiration behind Reconstruction.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
Yeah, Reconstruction is it's an album about understanding that sometimes
we have built lives, whether that is spiritually, relationally, financially,
we have built our lives.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Most of us on a solid foundation, especially if it's
the Lord.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
We hopeing that foundation is gonna last.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Hey, come on, now, come on, now you've been listening.
I like it. But the foundation is solid.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Some walls are cracked and some some some mold is
in the ceiling, and there's some asbestos in our house,
and so you know, we have to deconstruct that house
to reconstruct the one that we're supposed to have. So
so my personal story is that, you know, I was
so church hurt that I said I'm done with God.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
I'm out because I was just so that I was
so hurt, and and.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Be cause I didn't grow up in church. I said, well,
I'm just go back to doing what I was doing.
You know, I'm back. I'm gonna go back to the streets,
you know. And I felt like Peter when Jesus told him.
He said, you know you're gonna deny me. Three times,
Peter like, no, I'll never do that. But then he
denied him. And when he denied him, Jesus looked at
him after the rooster Crow, and I was thinking Jesus
(24:50):
looked at him and said, I told you he was
gonna deny me. But he wasn't saying I told you,
so he was saying I knew you was gonna do that,
and I still chose you.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
I still chose you.
Speaker 4 (25:02):
And that was the beginning of my reconstruction, right. It
was like God told God told me, like, no, I
need you to keep bills, and I need you to
start over, reconstruct this house. I'm gonna do a work
in it, and we're gonna still use you. You not done,
your story, not over yet, so you can start over today.
So this album was me expressing the people the process
(25:23):
that I had gotten to to get past the guilt
and the shame and to still be useful in the
kingdom and to collaborate with people to make music so
that even the people I'm collaborating with, so that they
understand that t I kill them. Mike, come on, we're
gonna do a song together. We're gonna talk about the
grief that we've gone through, losing family members, losing friends,
(25:44):
and we're going to allow that to be a healing
moment for us all so we can be reconstructed. And
that's why I did the album. I just want people
to know their story is not over it. We can
still keep going.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
That is so good.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
That's something that I feel like a lot of us
as Christians, we carry this shit and God ain't even
think about that nowhere. He has forgiven and forgotten about that,
and we're still carrying it, and it's not allowing him
to use this the way that he wants us to use.
I know that's something I struggled with as well, and
I want anybody to know in the audience, if that's
something you're struggling with, if you've repented for it and
(26:18):
asked for forgiveness and you're moving differently, God has forgiven
you for that. So stop holding back on what God
has for you, because a lot of times our shame
is just the enemy's way of keeping us from doing
what God wants us to do. Y'all.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
He is no nah nah nah nah nah nah nah.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
The woman as successful actress podcast.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
You do not have to be up here a preaching
at these folks like this. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
You could have just been quiet on your show, chilling,
letting all them fall in love with your character.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
And getting mad at everybody who oppose you. But you
out of character right now, preciing the folks appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Listen, I'm Moses right now, this is him speaking. I
was like, just speak through me, Lord, whatever you got
for the people. I just do whatever he promised me
to do. Yes, let him use you, But no, it's real.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
You're an artist.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
You're a songwriter and author in addition to being a
husband and a father.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
How do you handle it all?
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (27:24):
You got to prioritize. Let me tell you what I do.
I prioritize. I walk in the house, my kids be like, Daddy,
get out of my way. I'm trying to holler at
your mama.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
You move.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
Because listen, she's the priority for me, She's the party.
All they want is for us to stay together anyway,
So they ain't mad that they come second fiddle to
their mama.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
So I prioritize her, you know, and make sure that
she doesn't feel like the world is crumbling around her.
She feels supported, you know what I mean. And and
and you know, not to get on my high horse.
But fellas, that's what leadership is, you you. Leadership is
not being a tyrant. It's not telling somebody what to do.
(28:14):
Leadership is leading in service, leading in humility, leading and
asking questions. You know what I'm saying, Uh, lead in
those areas like lead in apologize because she ain't never
gonna do it anyway, so uh, you know, but but
that that's my number one priority. But then here's the
(28:38):
here's the kicker. And this confused a lot of people.
I say, but before her and here, just stay with
me before hers me, Stay with me, stay with me.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Before hers me.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Because if I am not emotionally spiritually healthy, I'm no
good for her.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
I'm no good for her.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
So I have to take care of my relationship with
the Lord. I got to take care of my mental health,
my emotional health, so that I can be there for
her and prioritize her and prioritize my kids. Now, after
me and the Lord and me and my wife and
me and my kids, then I get the rest of
the world some energy.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
Y'all can get some energy.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Because my family only gonna get one meed the world
can find another artist.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Right, Okay. I love that.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
In closing, I want to ask you, is there anything
that you want to let us know you have coming
up where we can follow you.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Keep up with you all the things.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Go stream my album, Go listen to it two more times,
ten more times. Thank you, keep up with me on
a deep in podcast. I might be back on social
media next week.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
We'll see what.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Happens, and make sure you give flowers to this woman.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Thank you because she don't have to do this.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Sincerely, this is your platform and you invite me up here,
but I gotta I gotta give you your flowers. Like
I love the way you're using your platform. I love
the way you're using your voice. A million little girls
want to grow up to be actresses. But but, but
but it's difficult when you get there to leverage it
(30:26):
and use it in a way that blesses people in
a way that you're doing.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
So thank you and thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Thank you so much for everyone who came out. Thank
you so much. We love you. In the meantime, in
between time, y'all know what to do. Yes. I love
you guys so much.
Calling all my sweeties to the forefront. I'm your host,
Christern and this is the Keep It Positive, Sweetish Show.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
I recently had the opportunity to interview Lacree at a
live event in Atlanta. We talked about faith and how
he uses his influence for something greater. Let's get into
that moment.
Speaker 1 (00:18):
How y'all feeling Atlanta? I got some sweeties in the house.
I'm so excited to be here today.
Speaker 2 (00:29):
Thank you guys for coming out. The next person I'm
calling to the stage. I've been on his podcast, The
Deep End, but I'm so excited to get to interview
him today.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
It's gonna be a conversation. It's not even an interview.
Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Together and get real, real loud from my brother Lucray.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
How you doing, y'all? Look good?
Speaker 4 (00:59):
Y'all look good? Hey dude, y'all look good. Man, Look
at y'all. I love it. I love it.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
Let's figure out how to sit here.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah I was. I was about to get down there
and do the electric slide.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
With them, but I you know, I didn't want to
be sweating before I got on stage.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Y I love it. I love it. How are you feeling.
Speaker 3 (01:18):
I'm great, man, I'm blessed. I can't complain.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
I know that's right, you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Can't complain. I'm here sitting on your couch. It's my turn. Yeah,
I got.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
You in the hot seat now.
Speaker 2 (01:31):
But no, I'm really excited to talk to you today.
You are from Houston, Texas, Heystown.
Speaker 4 (01:36):
Any Texans in the building, No Texans? All right, it's
all good, All right, there we go. Atlanta adopted me though,
so shout out to ATM.
Speaker 2 (01:45):
And our birthdays are nine days apart, October ninth and
October eighteenth, eight that's.
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Our birthday birthday twins.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yes, yes, So on this inspiration celebration Sunday, I want
to talk about how you have become the one that
we all love, that we're big fans of. I remember
when we talked on your podcast, you said that you
didn't grow up in the church. So how did you
find yourself growing closer to God at that young age
in your twenties?
Speaker 3 (02:15):
Well, yeah, I.
Speaker 4 (02:17):
My mother was raised in church, and she was raising
a church that was a little too strict, so she
wasn't allowed to wear lipstick. She couldn't go to sporting events,
a lot of you know things like that, no pants, nothing,
So for her, it scarred her and she didn't want
me to be scarred. So she said, we're not gonna
(02:39):
do church because it messed me up. So I didn't
grow up in church. I just grew up kind of
just me and mom doing our thing. I loved music,
and she played music all the time, so I was
constantly listening to music and being creative. And my grandmother,
she was you know, I would stay with her in
(03:01):
the summers, and she had church on a patio and
so in the summertime, you know, she would have me
come to church on a patio with her from time
to time. So I understood a little bit about who
God was, but it didn't really click for me.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
And then when I got.
Speaker 4 (03:18):
Into to school and just started going through some problems
and wrestles, it was like Grandma's voice was in the
back of my head.
Speaker 3 (03:27):
Saying, come on home, baby, come on home.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
And that's when I, you know, had my spiritual transition transformation.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
And then man, I.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
Just let God take the wheel and the music did
its own thing, and so here I am.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Here you are growing up looking back at young La Craye,
did you think you would ever be a disciple of Christ?
Speaker 3 (03:47):
No?
Speaker 1 (03:48):
No, what did you think back then? You were going
to be?
Speaker 3 (03:51):
I was in the streets. I was for the streets,
you know what I mean. I was for the streets.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
I'm looking out in the crowd, making sure I didn't
break hurt nobody feelings in this room, just checking.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
I don't know problems from That's the old me. Okay,
that's the old me. No, I really you know I was.
I was lost.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
I was just a wild individual. You know, I didn't know.
You know, who knows where I would have been? You know,
had it not been for God transforming me, who knows
where I would have been. I got three kids now,
I probably would have about twelve more.
Speaker 3 (04:32):
Had it not been for Jesus, i'd.
Speaker 4 (04:33):
Have my own disciples, twelve disciples.
Speaker 3 (04:36):
But but yeah, man, God has been faithful. Man, He's
been good to me.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yes, I love that.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Now, through your music, you have effortlessly blended faith and culture.
How has evolving in this space changed how you look
at being a Christian artist? Because I've heard you talk
on different interviews about how you label yourself.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
How has that evolved? Over the years.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Yeah, I look at I look at the church as
like the greenhouse, and the greenhouse is great. You can
grow in there, it's safe. It's a bubble that's safe
for you to grow. But I came from the jungle,
and sometimes the greenhouse in the jungle don't communicate even
(05:19):
though there's a lot of similarities. It's plants we both
need to grow, you know. So I felt like I
needed to be a bridge from the greenhouse to the jungle.
And some people burn down bridges, but some people.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Walk across them. And my goal was for people to
be able to walk across.
Speaker 4 (05:35):
So I want to be able to have relationships with people,
you know, in the hip hop industry and the mainstream industry,
and then be that bridge so that if they may
never step foot inside of a church, they may never
step foot inside of, you know, any event that is
as God oriented. So I wanted to kind of beat
that bridge from the world to the church. And that's
(05:56):
kind of how I exist. So I don't do the labels.
If you want to label me, go for it. I'm
whatever you need me to be. But at the end
of the day, I'm a bridge from the Kingdom to
the culture.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Yes, I know you've gotten a lot of backlash because
of that. How have you been able to just stand
ten toes down on who you are when even the
Christians are the ones saying d you know, because I
know the noise can get loud. How have you been
able to just stay true to who you are?
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (06:21):
You know you sometimes you you got to own what
God has called you to be.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
And people have tried to cancel me, but you can't
cancel God's plans.
Speaker 1 (06:32):
Can the church say? Amen, that's good?
Speaker 3 (06:35):
You know what I mean?
Speaker 4 (06:36):
So so for me, I'm gonna be who I am
and be that consistently. And you don't always everybody's not
gonna understand your mission, but that's why it's your mission,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (06:47):
And I and I understand that about myself in the
end of the day, I like that.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Okay, come on, now, come on, now, come on, now,
what were we talking about?
Speaker 3 (06:58):
Uh?
Speaker 4 (07:00):
But you know, I'm following in the footsteps of the
greatest leader in the world. And he was misunderstood so
to the point that they killed him, crucified them, you
know what I mean. And so sometimes being who you
are called to be means you're going to be misunderstood.
But I don't want to waste time trying to explain
(07:20):
myself to people who are hell bent on misunderstanding me.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
Yes, so good.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I remember I did your podcast and I was in
a different space in my walk than I am today.
And I remember calling you afterwards because it was so
much in the comments and it didn't feel like the
Christian community was a safe space for me. And I
remember I text you. I was like, Bro, I was like,
these people are crucifying me, and he was like, yeah,
(07:47):
I forgot to tell you my fans can be a
little harsh, but I hope they're not living in glasshouses.
And that still rings true because a lot of times
we forget that, we all fall short, you know.
Speaker 1 (07:57):
And I remember that moment.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
I was just like, I don't want to talk about
my walking more because I knew I was still working
on it.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
I knew where I was trying to be, but I
wasn't there.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
And even in that small phrase that you said, it
reminded me of Whoever has, Whoever is without singeing cast
the first song, And when you said it, I.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Was like, you're right.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
A lot of these people are if they were living
in glasshouses, windows shattered, shattered. Yeah, so it has helped
me to walk in my truth. So I want to
thank you for that.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
Oh no, absolutely, Listen. First of all, half of them
wish they was in your position. You know what I'm saying,
So cut it out. You hear me, cut it out.
And then the other thing about it is a lot
of people don't understand how difficult it is to grow
and to walk in the public eye.
Speaker 3 (08:46):
You know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (08:47):
Yes, you got your mess going on behind the scenes,
and nobody saw what you did and what you.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Said and where you was at last night.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Come on, but everybody knows, but you're trying to do
it in front of the world, and it's like, hey man,
cut me a break.
Speaker 2 (09:00):
Yeah, it's crazy you said that because I thought about that.
Just even how we live our walk, we talk about
Christ out loud, and you you've been very outspoken about
your views on politics, the culture, the church, were like,
the church.
Speaker 1 (09:16):
Community, everything, you name it.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
You've been very vocal about it, to the point where
it often puts a target on your back. Has there
ever been a time or an instance where you said
something and then you go home, Like, after seeing all
the comments in the backlash, I just wish I never
said anything.
Speaker 4 (09:35):
Yesterday, tonight, tomorrow, you know the thing I've begun to
understand and learn. So so I'll tell you true story.
I've been in some situations where you know, I let
people who don't really love me, who don't really know me,
(09:59):
U create too much pressure on me. And and you know,
if you live for people's acceptance, she'll die from their rejection.
Speaker 5 (10:10):
So hey on my street, Yeah yeah, so so so
I let these voices that don't really know me, you know,
influence my attitude, my perspective.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
So sometimes we do say things that we were like, man,
I probably I probably I didn't think about that one.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
And and yes, we should be slow to speak and
quick to listen.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
So there's there's been plenty times where I've said something
where it's kind of like, hey, maybe I should have
I should have slowed.
Speaker 3 (10:42):
Up, Like one particud.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
I'll never forget this particular instance where you know, this
woman just.
Speaker 3 (10:49):
Really you know, she was very political and she just
you know, I was.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
Talking about unarmed black people being killed in the street,
and she had her views, and she thought I was
being too political. And so on and so forth, and
I think, you know, something inside of me said, I
need her to know the me that doesn't get seen
(11:13):
on social media. I need her to see the version
of me that you know, Jesus still is working on.
And so I may have used some choice words to
address this woman via social media, and I thought to myself,
(11:33):
I said, you know what, I didn't have to do that.
As matter of fact, she didn't. She doesn't deserve, you know,
she doesn't deserve that level of engagement and interaction. I'm
wasting my time on this conversation. And so so I've
learned to just be quiet and let the people talk.
Speaker 3 (11:53):
That was a long answer to your question, but that
was it.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
No, that's good. That's good.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
We talk about the current state of the world, and
we're living in some scary times. It's like I'm reading
my Bible and I'm seeing things play out in real time.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
You know.
Speaker 2 (12:08):
But I wanted to ask you because for me, in
the past year, it feels like there has not been
a conversation where Christ didn't come up.
Speaker 1 (12:16):
You know.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
It's like everybody is seeking the Lord. They're trying to
find some type of hope or something to believe in
because everyone is just divided right now. But also Christians
have been turned away from the faith because of the Church.
What do you feel we can do as a Christian
community to make Christianity as safe.
Speaker 3 (12:36):
Space again, that's a good question. Okay. So number one,
we can't get caught up in a cultural war, y'all.
We can't. Like it's going to be a culture.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
War going on out there where it's right verse left
or red verse blue, or whatever it may be. But
you can never choose the empire over the kingdom, right, don't,
because then the empire wins.
Speaker 3 (13:02):
That's how Satan operates.
Speaker 4 (13:04):
He don't care if the red or the blue wind,
as long as you are concerned with the empire and
not the kingdom. And so when we get so caught
up and everything going on, I'm not saying we don't fight,
we don't vote, we don't stand up for our rights.
But what I am saying is when we base our
hope on things outside of the Lord man, we're standing
(13:25):
on saying, that's gonna sink.
Speaker 3 (13:26):
And I've been there to where I blamed.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
God for all the chaos I saw instead of blaming
the broken people around me. Don't blame God for people hurts.
God didn't do that to you, then broken people did.
And He's the only one that's keeping you together in
the midst of the pain.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
So that'd be my encouragement for folks.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
Going through I love that because I know a lot
of people are looking if that was great, A lot
of people are looking for hope, even me. I'm just
like seeking the face of God during this time. And
a lot I hear a lot of people saying I
love the Lord. I'm like, but you don't fear him,
you know. It's a difference, like preach him.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Talk to me. You love him, but you don't feelhim.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Huh. You don't fear him, you know.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
And I think as I've gotten into my Bible, I
hear his voice so loud. I can hear his anger
in the thunder. Like there's there's many times where I'm like,
I wake up and I'm.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
Like you hear like, yeah, it's crazy.
Speaker 2 (14:32):
And it's not to be scared of him, but to
just be And so in all that, you don't want
to let him down and you want to revere him
in such a way and you are so funny, keep going.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Come home.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
But I think that that is the thing that people
are missing, you know, They're like they're searching for It's
so much going on every time you turn the TV on.
I'm even I'm off a Instagram right now, and I
look around in the room and everybody's on their phone,
and it's like you can watch in real time. How
like everybody's like, oh my god, this happened, or they're laughing.
(15:10):
It's just like wandering aimlessly on Instagram, like so much
time is going by. But also how you can be like, oh, look,
this just happened and something that is like very graphic,
very disturbing. But we're so desensitized because it's like pushed
in our face so much every single day. And this
has been like the most free that I felt, just
(15:30):
being disconnected and just living life and being productive, enjoying
my piece.
Speaker 4 (15:37):
You know.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Yeah, so you are known for your music. You did
your first studio album in two thousand and four, two
decades like you've.
Speaker 1 (15:47):
Been in the game for a minute.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
I was a kid, You was a kid, but.
Speaker 1 (15:51):
You has grown now. How did you navigate what can
be called a niche lane? You know, because you.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
I feel a lot of people are here two thousand
and four.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
That's a long time ago.
Speaker 2 (16:05):
Yeah, to still be here and still relevant, which we're
gonna talk about in a second.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
But yeah, you know, I think part of it is.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Part of it is being curious. You know.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
I never My mother is seventy years old, and she's
her TikTok is more popping than mine is, you know,
because she's still curious, she's still engaged. I think a
lot of times we get older and we get stuck,
we just say I'm done. I don't have to think
about nothing else no more. I'm just going to live here.
(16:42):
But the world is going to keep on going. And
I'm not saying you got to keep up with every
trend and so on and so forth. But I do
think it's important to always stay learning. If you're not learning,
you're not growing. If you're not growing, you're dying, you
know what I'm like. Yeah, So for me, it's just
I just want to learn, and and part of learning
is staying connected to the culture, listening to younger artists,
(17:02):
listening to some stuff and saying that ain't for me,
but God bless you.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
And then just doing what I do. You know, in
the midst of it.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
Was there a moment where you like, okay, got could
you know you get that shiny new thing and it's
like okay, what's next? Or wow, like I sacrificed so
much to get this was it worth it? How did
you feel in that moment? And did you have a
premonition like that?
Speaker 3 (17:25):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (17:25):
I think when you are so I think most successful
people you're probably attested this because you're very successfully in self.
Most successful people are fighting through some trauma, some brokenness.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
Yeah, because.
Speaker 4 (17:44):
There's something in you that is trying to prove or
validate some lies that have been told to you, or
fight through some lives event told you some insecurities.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
And that's what makes us push so so so hard.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Even if you look at David in the Bible, like
he was so amazing, but he was still the son
of Jesse who was the last one to be picked
to be king, and so he just you see that
trauma coming out in his lifetime. And so for me,
you know, it took me a while to see that
these shiny statues don't validate me. I was already somebody
(18:23):
before I got them.
Speaker 3 (18:24):
Yes, you know what I mean.
Speaker 4 (18:26):
I was fearfully and wonderfully made and these are the
evidence of how gracious and good God is and what
He's done to me. But these these are not what
defines me. And it took me a while to get there.
So when you first get them, they do become an
extension of your worth and value and like, yeah, I'm
somebody now.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
But as you grow you learn like this don't make me.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
I make this no, absolutely, And you speak about we
all are fighting through trauma, you know, and as a
black man in the light, how have you been able
to deal and navigate your own trauma?
Speaker 3 (19:03):
Therapy?
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Come on, come on, man, a god, talk about it
because a lot of people I got Jesus, I don't
need therapy, Yes you do.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
Let's talk about it.
Speaker 3 (19:13):
Let me tell you something, man, I'm being honest.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
All the folks out there who say I don't need therapy,
I got Jesus. Stop wearing your glasses, stop taking your
heart medicine, stop taking your insulin for your diabetes.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
Stop exercising. You don't need it.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
You got Jesus, right, Yeah, So like, stop wearing the odorant.
Speaker 3 (19:40):
You got Jesus. You hear what I'm saying. It's ridiculous.
Speaker 4 (19:46):
There is a there was a brain in your head
and there are people who understand the human brain. If
you really dig deep, you can find Christian therapists who
understand your human head and your spirit at your heart
and do a unique work. And my therapist, we pray
and then we get to work, you know what I'm saying.
(20:08):
So therapy has really been the most transformable part of
me because it allowed me, like my therapist had me
one time, to just hey, let's just think about the
little boy that was being abused, that was being neglected,
and let's pray for that little boy that was you.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
And that was a powerful thing.
Speaker 4 (20:27):
Like I know that boy is here now, but it
was a powerful thing to just go back and and
to wrestle that because a lot of us, especially as
black men, we think, well, we just got power through it.
You know what I'm saying. I'm just gonna power through it.
Be good, and I don't need nothing. And we're just
bottling up all of this, this this trauma. And we're
unhealthy men, and we are terrorizing our women with the
(20:50):
unhealth that is living.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
Inside of us. And it's not fair to the women,
you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (20:55):
And so and and women are having to settle for
unhealthy men which is ridiculou And that's why so many
single women now because they ain't.
Speaker 3 (21:02):
Got time for your unhealthy foolishness. So get healthy. Come on,
you know what I'm saying now you preaching? Hey listen,
I got a daughter. Come on, I got time for this.
Speaker 1 (21:13):
That's real, that's real.
Speaker 2 (21:15):
You recently released your tenth solo album, Reconstruction.
Speaker 1 (21:19):
Y'all can dreads together? Have y'all heard it? Have you
downloaded it?
Speaker 3 (21:22):
I appreciate all of y'all. I love all of y'all.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
Yeah, download it right now.
Speaker 3 (21:26):
If you don't appreciate.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
Y'all, and come see me at the Taper Neck on
November twenty third, come holl let me.
Speaker 1 (21:30):
Hey. It is fire.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
It is my new gym workout album. It gets me
through the StairMaster. And that's the hardest part of being
like uh. But when I was telling you backstage, I
had started a fast earlier this month, and I was like,
oh la, Craye.
Speaker 1 (21:47):
Has a new album out.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
Because even with the music that I listen to, I'm
very very intentional about what I take in, especially when
i'm fasting. Because a lot of us have said it before,
we don't realize that music is a portal.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
It insights feelings, whether we realize it or not.
Speaker 3 (22:02):
So just preach what else you want to say. We listen.
Speaker 2 (22:10):
So I was driving down the road and it was
the song Bless You Lord, and that's literally I play
it over and over and over again. But it was
a part where you said I've done some things that
I cannot stomach, and I immediately I was like a
gut punch and I just immediately started crying. And it
was a realization that a lot of times, when we're
(22:31):
living out of the will of God, we're doing things
and not even realizing that it's detestable to him, you know,
and he's very disappointed and just thinking about his grace
and even like when you change your life, you look
back and like I cannot believe I was doing what me,
you know, and just the grace of God. It hit
me and I was just so grateful. But if it
(22:53):
had him in any other day, I was just been bopping.
But that day I was like, I was like, what
do you say? And so I kept listening to it.
But that whole album it feels like a public service announcement.
I feel like you're very deliberate, You're intentional and you're
letting us know we need to shake some things up.
(23:15):
You over here turning the tables over, and it's time
let's talk about the inspiration behind Reconstruction.
Speaker 4 (23:24):
Yeah, Reconstruction is it's an album about understanding that sometimes
we have built lives, whether that is spiritually, relationally, financially,
we have built our lives.
Speaker 3 (23:44):
Most of us on a solid foundation, especially if it's
the Lord.
Speaker 1 (23:48):
We hopeing that foundation is gonna last.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
Hey, come on, now, come on, now you've been listening.
I like it. But the foundation is solid.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
Some walls are cracked and some some some mold is
in the ceiling, and there's some asbestos in our house,
and so you know, we have to deconstruct that house
to reconstruct the one that we're supposed to have. So
so my personal story is that, you know, I was
so church hurt that I said I'm done with God.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
I'm out because I was just so that I was
so hurt, and and.
Speaker 4 (24:27):
Be cause I didn't grow up in church. I said, well,
I'm just go back to doing what I was doing.
You know, I'm back. I'm gonna go back to the streets,
you know. And I felt like Peter when Jesus told him.
He said, you know you're gonna deny me. Three times,
Peter like, no, I'll never do that. But then he
denied him. And when he denied him, Jesus looked at
him after the rooster Crow, and I was thinking Jesus
(24:50):
looked at him and said, I told you he was
gonna deny me. But he wasn't saying I told you,
so he was saying I knew you was gonna do that,
and I still chose you.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
I still chose you.
Speaker 4 (25:02):
And that was the beginning of my reconstruction, right. It
was like God told God told me, like, no, I
need you to keep bills, and I need you to
start over, reconstruct this house. I'm gonna do a work
in it, and we're gonna still use you. You not done,
your story, not over yet, so you can start over today.
So this album was me expressing the people the process
(25:23):
that I had gotten to to get past the guilt
and the shame and to still be useful in the
kingdom and to collaborate with people to make music so
that even the people I'm collaborating with, so that they
understand that t I kill them. Mike, come on, we're
gonna do a song together. We're gonna talk about the
grief that we've gone through, losing family members, losing friends,
(25:44):
and we're going to allow that to be a healing
moment for us all so we can be reconstructed. And
that's why I did the album. I just want people
to know their story is not over it. We can
still keep going.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
That is so good.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
That's something that I feel like a lot of us
as Christians, we carry this shit and God ain't even
think about that nowhere. He has forgiven and forgotten about that,
and we're still carrying it, and it's not allowing him
to use this the way that he wants us to use.
I know that's something I struggled with as well, and
I want anybody to know in the audience, if that's
something you're struggling with, if you've repented for it and
(26:18):
asked for forgiveness and you're moving differently, God has forgiven
you for that. So stop holding back on what God
has for you, because a lot of times our shame
is just the enemy's way of keeping us from doing
what God wants us to do. Y'all.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
He is no nah nah nah nah nah nah nah.
Speaker 4 (26:38):
The woman as successful actress podcast.
Speaker 3 (26:41):
You do not have to be up here a preaching
at these folks like this. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (26:47):
You could have just been quiet on your show, chilling,
letting all them fall in love with your character.
Speaker 3 (26:53):
And getting mad at everybody who oppose you. But you
out of character right now, preciing the folks appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Listen, I'm Moses right now, this is him speaking. I
was like, just speak through me, Lord, whatever you got
for the people. I just do whatever he promised me
to do. Yes, let him use you, But no, it's real.
Speaker 1 (27:16):
You're an artist.
Speaker 2 (27:17):
You're a songwriter and author in addition to being a
husband and a father.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
How do you handle it all?
Speaker 3 (27:23):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (27:24):
You got to prioritize. Let me tell you what I do.
I prioritize. I walk in the house, my kids be like, Daddy,
get out of my way. I'm trying to holler at
your mama.
Speaker 3 (27:38):
You move.
Speaker 4 (27:41):
Because listen, she's the priority for me, She's the party.
All they want is for us to stay together anyway,
So they ain't mad that they come second fiddle to
their mama.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (27:54):
So I prioritize her, you know, and make sure that
she doesn't feel like the world is crumbling around her.
She feels supported, you know what I mean. And and
and you know, not to get on my high horse.
But fellas, that's what leadership is, you you. Leadership is
not being a tyrant. It's not telling somebody what to do.
(28:14):
Leadership is leading in service, leading in humility, leading and
asking questions. You know what I'm saying, Uh, lead in
those areas like lead in apologize because she ain't never
gonna do it anyway, so uh, you know, but but
that that's my number one priority. But then here's the
(28:38):
here's the kicker. And this confused a lot of people.
I say, but before her and here, just stay with
me before hers me, Stay with me, stay with me.
Speaker 3 (28:51):
Before hers me.
Speaker 4 (28:52):
Because if I am not emotionally spiritually healthy, I'm no
good for her.
Speaker 3 (29:00):
I'm no good for her.
Speaker 4 (29:01):
So I have to take care of my relationship with
the Lord. I got to take care of my mental health,
my emotional health, so that I can be there for
her and prioritize her and prioritize my kids. Now, after
me and the Lord and me and my wife and
me and my kids, then I get the rest of
the world some energy.
Speaker 3 (29:23):
Y'all can get some energy.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Because my family only gonna get one meed the world
can find another artist.
Speaker 1 (29:27):
Right, Okay. I love that.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
In closing, I want to ask you, is there anything
that you want to let us know you have coming
up where we can follow you.
Speaker 1 (29:37):
Keep up with you all the things.
Speaker 4 (29:38):
Go stream my album, Go listen to it two more times,
ten more times. Thank you, keep up with me on
a deep in podcast. I might be back on social
media next week.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
We'll see what.
Speaker 4 (29:51):
Happens, and make sure you give flowers to this woman.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
Thank you because she don't have to do this.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Sincerely, this is your platform and you invite me up here,
but I gotta I gotta give you your flowers. Like
I love the way you're using your platform. I love
the way you're using your voice. A million little girls
want to grow up to be actresses. But but, but
but it's difficult when you get there to leverage it
(30:26):
and use it in a way that blesses people in
a way that you're doing.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
So thank you and thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (30:32):
Thank you so much for everyone who came out. Thank
you so much. We love you. In the meantime, in
between time, y'all know what to do. Yes. I love
you guys so much.
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