Blessings

One of the leading figures in the gospel-rap movement, Lecrae delivers his Christ-centric rhymes with secular flair, employing contemporary production that attracts fans from both ends of the spiritual spectrum. Influenced by Romans 1:16 ("For I am not ashamed of the gospel"), Lecrae made his debut in 2004 with Real Talk, which he issued on his own label, Reach Records. He topped the Christian charts with 2008's Rebel and took home the Grammy for Best Gospel Album with 2012's Gravity. His journey to bring his message to the mainstream reached a peak in 2014 when Anomaly topped the Billboard 200, and continued into 2016 when he signed with Columbia Records. In addition to collaborations with secular artists E-40, Ty Dolla $ign, and Tori Kelly, Lecrae teamed up with trap producer Zaytoven in 2018 for a joint effort, the Christian chart-topper Let the Trap Say Amen. In 2020, he released his ninth set and seventh Christian chart number one, Restoration. No Church in a While, a full-length collaboration with 1K Phew, arrived in 2021, followed by the 2022 mixtape Church Clothes 4 and singles like 2023's "Walk" with Hulvey and "Your Power" with Tasha Cobbs Leonard.

Although he was born on Houston's south side, Lecrae Devaughn Moore grew up in Denver, Colorado and San Diego, California. It was at the age of 19 that he decided to give his life to Christ. Using conventional methods to spread the Gospel, he began working for ministerial services, and became president of ReachLife Ministries, conducting Bible studies and many other projects. Lecrae's popular success, however, came from his burgeoning Christian rap career. In 2004, he co-founded Reach Records with Ben Washer; one year later, the label released his debut album, Real Talk. Also, as a part of the 116 Clique, he put out 116 Clique: The Compilation Album.

In July 2006, Lecrae dropped his breakout album, the acclaimed After the Music Stops. It debuted at number one on the Christian Music Trade Association's R&B/Hip-Hop chart and peaked at number five on Billboard's Gospel Albums chart. His 2008 effort, Rebel, topped that same chart for two weeks while his 2010 release, Rehab, reigned at the top for one. Rehab was also nominated for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. A sequel album, Rehab: The Overdose, arrived in 2011, and won him his first two Dove Awards (for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year and Rap/Hip-Hop Song of the Year for "Hallelujah").

Lecrae's sixth album, Gravity, appeared in September 2012. A star-studded release, it featured Big K.R.I.T., Mali Music, Trip Lee, and Andy Mineo. Gravity quickly became the biggest-selling Christian rap album in history, debuting at number three on the overall charts, topping digital charts, and, early the following year, winning him the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Album (a prize no Christian rapper had ever won before). That same year, Lecrae issued the first installment of his Church Clothes mixtape series. Church Clothes 2 swiftly followed in 2013.

Lecrae's seventh album, 2014's Anomaly, managed to outdo its predecessor. It debuted at number one -- both on Billboard's gospel chart and the overall chart -- the first album to do so. It also received plenty of critical acclaim and won a Dove Award. Lecrae went on to appear on Lindsey Stirling's 2016 album Brave Enough and contributed to the soundtrack to The Shack ("River of Jordan" with Breyan Isaac). He also signed a deal with Columbia in order to expand the audience of his Reach Records label. The first single from Lecrae's Columbia debut, "Can't Stop Me Now (Destination)," arrived in October of that year. Several months later, in February 2017, a second single, the Ty Dolla $ign-assisted "Blessings," was released. Following a third single, "Hammer Time," Lecrae put out All Things Work Together on Columbia in September 2017. Early 2018 saw the release of the single "Get Right Back" ahead of the arrival of full-length Let the Trap Say Amen, a collaboration with producer/DJ Zaytoven that also spawned the hit single "Plugged In." The album debuted in the Top 50 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Christian charts for his sixth consecutive effort.

In 2020, Lecrae kicked off another album cycle with the release of the single "Set Me Free," which featured Florida rapper YK Osiris. That was just one of the tracks that appeared on his ninth full-length, Restoration, which also included album closer "Nothing Left to Hide." His seventh Christian chart number one was a mainstream-friendly set featuring guests John Legend, Kirk Franklin, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Marc E. Bassy. A year later, Lecrae teamed up with fellow Christian rapper 1K Phew for the full-length collaboration No Church in a While. With 2022's Church Clothes 4, he closed out his ongoing series of mixtapes. A non-album single and collaboration with Tasha Cobbs Leonard, "Your Power," arrived in 2023. ~ Cyril Cordor

Since the dawn of the 2010s, Ty Dolla $ign has been steadily racking up hits, first with one of his many featured appearances and then with headlining singles on which his sly, explicitly hedonistic style of contemporary R&B was put on full display. After assisting the "worldwide underground" likes of Sa-Ra and Erykah Badu, Ty reached the mainstream through YG's "Toot It and Boot It" (2010), continued to gain hits as a collaborator, and as a solo artist narrowly missed the Top Ten with full-length projects such as Free TC (2015) and Beach House III (2017). Since then, he issued his third LP, the Top Ten Billboard 200-charting Featuring Ty Dolla $ign (2020). In 2021, he collaborated with dvsn for Cheers to the Best Memories and in 2023 joined forces with Kanye West to form a new project, ¥$, who released a pair of 2024 albums, Vultures 1 and Vultures 2.

The singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, born Tyrone Griffin, Jr. -- the son of Tyrone Griffin, a musician who played with Lakeside and Teena Marie -- started making moves during the 2000s in his native Los Angeles. As one-half of Ty & Kory, the younger Griffin appeared on Sa-Ra's The Hollywood Recordings, Erykah Badu's New Amerykah, Pt. 1: 4th World War, and Shafiq Husayn's Shafiq En' A-Free-Ka, as well as Black Milk's Popular Demand. He reached the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time in 2010 with YG's "Toot It and Boot It," for which he provided the hook. A pivotal moment, it preceded constant studio activity that resulted in solo and collaborative output issued throughout the decade.

Ty Dolla $ign made his major-label debut on Atlantic in 2013 with "Paranoid," which eventually went multi-platinum. "Or Nah," the follow-up, became his second single to hit the Top Ten of Billboard's Hot R&B Songs chart, and quickly went multi-platinum. Additional singles and appearances on commercial and underground releases alike led to the November 2015 release of Free TC, his debut album. Dedicated to his incarcerated brother, the guest-loaded set debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200, boosted by "Blasé," "Saved," and "Wavy," all certified gold or platinum tracks.

During the next two years, Ty branched out stylistically as an accessory to pop hits such as Fifth Harmony's "Work from Home," the Suicide Squad: The Album smash "Sucker for Pain," and Jason Derulo's "Swalla." Major Lazer and Nick Jonas were also among the artists who enlisted his services, though these pop and club efforts were balanced out with assists for the likes of Fat Joe, 2 Chainz, and Meek Mill. As lead artist, the commercial mixtape Campaign arrived just ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election and became a Top 30 hit, highlighted by "No Justice," a sober protest song recorded with his still-jailed brother. Beach House III, Griffin's second proper album, was teased with genre-hopping singles involving Lil Wayne and the-Dream ("Love U Better"), and Damian Marley and Skrillex ("So Am I"). It hit number 11 upon its October 2017 release.

Griffin continued to excel primarily as a supporting artist for the next few years. Following a slew of collaborative one-offs highlighted by Post Malone's Hot 100-topping "Psycho" and Khalid's likewise multi-platinum "OTW," he and Jeremih partnered to jointly release the album MihTy. Ty co-starred on well over a dozen tracks in 2019, such as Kehlani's "Nights Like This," Megan Thee Stallion's number 11 hit "Hot Girl Summer," and Skrillex's "Midnight Hour," the last of which was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording. In 2020, he headlined a clutch of singles, including July's "Ego Death," featuring Kanye West, FKA Twigs, and Skrillex, and in August's charting "Expensive," on which he was joined by Nicki Minaj. Both tracks paved the way for his third full-length, Featuring Ty Dolla $ign, which arrived that October and landed at number four on the Billboard 200. His first U.S. Top Ten debut, the album featured several more guest-featuring singles, including "Spicy" with Post Malone and "By Yourself" with Jhené Aiko and Mustard.

The following year, after appearing on their 2020 album A Muse in Her Feelings, Ty recorded a full-length collaboration with Canadian R&B duo dvsn titled Cheers to the Best Memories. He also guested on David Guetta's "Family," released in several different versions, with the one featuring Bebe Rexha racking up the most streams. In 2022, Ty released the Wiz Khalifa collaboration "Champions" and the Mustard-produced "My Friends" (featuring Lil Durk). He began the following year with a single titled "2022," then collaborated with Alesso on the song "Caught a Body" and issued the solo track "Motion."

In 2023, Ty joined forces with Kanye West to form a new project, ¥$. The duo released their debut single "Vultures" in November of that year. They slowly leaked out information about the project in the lead-up to an oft-delayed debut full length Vultures 1 before finally releasing it in February of 2024. The album that included guest appearances from a number of famous artists including Lil Durk, Freddie Gibbs, James Blake and many others, and debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart. It spawned the chart-topping hit "Carnival," featuring Rich the Kid and Playboi Carti.

Though ¥$ initially claimed they would release subsequent chapters Vultures 2 and Vultures 3 as a trilogy at the rate of one album per month, it would be August of 2024 when Vultures 2 finally materialized. The album again included a host of guest appearances, this time making space for collaborations from Lil Wayne, Young Thug, Desiigner, and Kodak Black, and many more. ~ Andy Kellman