Bobby Carter | April 9, 2026 Tiny Desk has featured some of the best music across various genres throughout our 18-year history; however, Lecrae is the first Christian rapper to perform at NPR headquarters. I felt guilty when I mentioned this to the Houston-born emcee, only because it's taken so long. If we're putting a spotlight on faith-based hip-hop, we had to start with Lecrae.
Hip-hop originated in the streets; its growth has been slow and steady, with faith often appearing as a caveat in the music. It felt acceptable to mention God without getting too preachy, but if you went past that line, an obsession over authenticity stigmatized Christian rappers. And then Lecrae cracked the code: His devotion is unapologetic and consistent through the lyrics, but everything else, from the production to delivery, feels real and earned.
For his set, Lecrae aptly kicked things off with "Coming in Hot," and breezed through seven more tracks from his catalog, including 2024's "Die for the Party," a song inspired by Kendrick Lamar's "Watch the Party Die," in which Lamar reflects, "Sometimes I wonder what Lecrae would do."
SET LIST "Coming in Hot" "Spread the Opps" "I'm Turnt" "H20" "Die for the Party" "Bless You" "Tell the World" "I'll Find You"
MUSICIANS Lecrae: vocals Lawrence Swoope: keys Reshard Baham: keys Joshua Dunham: bass Nate Robinson: drums DJ Mykael V: DJ Joe Williams: trumpet Madicin: background vocals Liz Vaughn: background vocals
TINY DESK TEAM Producer: Bobby Carter Director/Editor: Joshua Bryant Audio Director: Josh Newell Videographers: Joshua Bryant, Maia Stern, Kara Frame Audio Mix: Josephine Nyounai Audio Engineer: Hannah Gluvna Production Assistants: Dhanika Pineda, Dora Levite Photographer: Zayrha Rodriguez Tiny Desk Team: Ashley Pointer, Felix Contreras Series Editor: Lars Gotrich Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Executive Director: Sonali Mehta Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
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