After the show, after the set, after the music stops what’s next?
Will there be fellowship, prayer, disciples, will you open your Bibles after the music stops?
After it’s over, after it ends, after the music stops, what then?
Will you understand that Christ is King? Or will you just like the words we sing after the music stops?
By Bob Romantic
GCU News Bureau
The chorus from the hit single “After the Music Stops” speaks volumes about Christian hip hop artist Lecrae.
It’s a powerful message that addresses a person’s commitment to Christ, and Lecrae’s hope is that his inspiration will spread beyond the music and into people’s lives. It’s a message – and an artist -- that GCU believes in.
So when Lecrae and Reach Records embark on their fifth annual Unashamed Tour this fall, GCU will be along for the ride as the first title sponsor for the tour.
“The people who are inherently at those events are great student candidates for the kind of Christian university we represent,” said Scott Fehrenbacher, a senior vice president and director of faith-based development at GCU. “We believe it will pay great dividends for the school but also believe it provides a great benefit for his audience. It’s a win-win situation.”
GCU has sponsored national Christian tours in the past, but none that carry the weight of Lecrae.
His 2008 album “Rebel” was the first Christian rap album ever to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Gospel Charts; he followed that in 2010 with “Rehab,” one of the highest-selling Christian rap/hip hop albums in history; and “Rehab: The Overdose” hit No. 1 on the hip hop and Christian hip hop charts in 2011.
He is also co-founder of the Reach Records label, received a Grammy nomination for “Rehab,” was nominated for seven GMA awards (winning twice), won the Best Hip Hop Music Video at the 2010 GMC Music Video Awards, and was the first Christian hip hop artist to be featured at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Hip Hop Awards.
“Lecrae is the leading hip hop artist in Christian music, with no one else even close,” Fehrenbacher said. “He’s also one of the fastest-rising artists in Christian music overall and is highly respected in mainstream markets.
“When we’ve been on tour with him, it’s really obvious that the volume and intensity of the audience is higher in his performances than anybody else.”
The nationwide Unashamed Tour, which includes a stop at GCU Arena on Nov. 2, begins Oct. 4 in Pittsburgh and hits 30 cities, including Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, New York City, Atlanta, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas. Tickets for the concert at GCU are expected to go on sale in August.
Lecrae will be joined by label mates Tedashii, KB, Trip Lee, Andy Mineo and PRO on the tour.
As title sponsor of the tour, GCU will have multiple booths and will feature a promotional video at the concerts. In addition, Fehrenbacher said Lecrae will speak during each concert intermission about his experience with GCU. The University will have two faith-based marketing specialists traveling with the tour.
“It will be a very comprehensive marketing experience from start to finish,” Fehrenbacher said.
GCU had approached Lecrae before, but Fehrenbacher said the hip hop artist felt uncomfortable with sponsors and the answer was always “‘No, no and no. We like you guys, but we don’t have sponsors.’”
But as the relationship grew, Fehrenbacher said Lecrae began to see that GCU shared the same mission close to his heart.
“It’s a great fit. The brands will be very complementary to each other,” Fehrenbacher said. “We couldn’t be more excited because we are confident we will find a lot of new GCU students.”
Contact Bob Romantic at 639.7611 or [email protected].
