Lecrae departs from the perspective of many popular hip-hop artists, writing a song dedicated to just one woman, his real-life wife, in the R&B infused “All I Need is You.” Rather than assuming the persona of a single player, constantly analogizing himself as a pimp or invoking Ike Turner references on a song with his wife, he rhymes with true vulnerability about what his wife means to him. In it he highlights the beauty of writing about your personal life from a realistic place rather than emphasizing hip-hop fantasies that the artist (or the label) believes their audience wants to hear. With his album Anomaly conquering the Billboard 200 at #1 the week of its release, it appears that people are taking notice.
Recently, I was sent a cover version of the love ballad "If Only For One Night" by a Korean artist, which prompted a question from my friend: “If that Luther Vandross classic came out today, would it be successful? I'm not sure if our society believes in romance and love like that anymore." While I’m not sure if the Luther song would see the same level of success today, if Morton, Mali or Lecrae’s success are a sign, I’d say there’s certainly folks out there who still need to hear about love, and perhaps they wouldn’t mind hearing about it from someone who represents the gospel.