Lecrae kicked off The Destination Tour at the Music Farm in Columbia Tuesday night. Hundreds of people waited in line to see the Grammy-winner’s new set for the very first time.
In between songs, Lecrae broke into preaching about his success, but also universal topics including death, personal growth and even finances that anyone in the crowd could relate to.
The opening acts were fellow Christian rapper Big Redd and rising star Ambre Perkins. Before he came on, a pre-recorded video of Lecrae showed him advocating for the Food for the Hungry organization, which had volunteers going around asking for donations during the show. When Lecrae finally did come onstage, it began a racing pulse that brought all of the Music Farm alive. Drum beats and techno notes complemented Lecrae’s soulful anthems throughout the show. The onstage visuals ranged from bright color palettes to live action video to Lichtenstein paintings.
Halfway through his set, Lecrae paid tribute to his late friend and fellow rapper DJ Official by playing one of his songs. DJ Official passed away earlier this year following a double lung transplant surgery.
When he said goodbye for the first time and left the stage, people began chanting 1-1-6, a call to his group project 116 Clique. When he did come back on, his energy — as well as the pyrotechnics — grew even bigger. Then just like that he was gone, leaving the crowd with only the desire for a few more encores.
The Destination Tour is a statement of where Lecrae is now and where he is going. As a Christian artist, there may be stigma that comes along with the label, but fans are optimistic that that he can reach even more.
“He actually does have good music and I think if people actually took the time to listen to his music and listen to his lyrics, it’s very relatable to Christians and non-Christians and I think that’s what he’s trying to do," first-year exercise science student Jannai Maxwell said. "He’s trying to reach out to non-Christians with his music and I think he’s doing a good job of bridging that gap."
Another attribute to Lecrae’s popularity is that he does not swear in his songs, so a younger audience can have a better opportunity to listen to him. That is already starting to be apparent, as many adults had brought their kids to see the show.
“We listen to Lecrae’s music all the time,” said Alex Kirby, a youth pastor at Chapin Baptist Church.
“We’ll even play it, we’ll pause it and we’ll say ‘Here’s what he just talked about it’ and use it even in a dialogue sense,” he said.
Lecrae is wasting no time as the next stop on his tour is Oct. 26 at The Ritz in Raleigh, North Carolina, at 7 p.m.