Rehab is the fourth studio album by Christian hip hop artist Lecrae. It was released on September 28, 2010 on Reach Records.Rehab Begins 9.28.10 Rapzilla. According to the Reach Records website, the album's "motto" is "The Christian life is an entrance into rehab."Rehab, Reach Records. Centered on release and freedoms from inhibiting addictions and habits, Rehab is a highly conceptual album. Rehab is nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards.Lecrae 'REHAB' Nominated for a Grammy Rapzilla.53rd Annual Grammy Awards nominees list. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 30, 2010. The album was named the Best Album of 2010 in the "Best of 2010: Rapzilla.com's Staff Picks" awards, and Lecrae was also named Artist of the Year.Best of 2010: Rapzilla.com's Staff Picks Rapzilla. The song "Background" and the album itself were nominated for Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year and Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year, respectively, at the 42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards. GMA.
Background In early 2010, Lecrae had been planning to name his next project "Rehab" although he had doubts about the name, mainly because Eminem released an album of a similar title. Despite this, Lecrae stuck with the original name, because "it made too much sense to not move forward with it."Looking Back and Pressing Forward , Reach Records.
Release and promotion On August 3, 2010 Lecrae released "Amp It Up" on Rapzilla that features Tedashii.Amp It Up Rapzilla. Originally thought to be the first single of Rehab, Lecrae stated that it is a theme song for a Christian camp called Kanakuk Kamps.Lecrae's Twitter Twitter. A video was posted via Rapzilla on August 19, 2010 of Lecrae rapping a verse from the song "Walking on Water".Lecrae spits a new 'Rehab' Verse Rapzilla.
According to Lecrae's blog, he will be in Southern Sudan at the time of the album's release so the "distractions of my life are stripped away and I'm left to focus on Jesus and his mission." He states that he won't be looking at the iTunes Store charts on which his album will be. On his blog he encourages his fans to not only buy his album, but asks them to donate to causes in Sudan and provides a link for them to do so.Rehab Mission Reach Records.
On September 22, 2010 Rapzilla reported that the Rehab packaging comes with an advertisement that directs buyers to purchase Rehab: The Overdose to be released on January 11, 2011, called .Lecrae's Next Album 'Rehab: The Overdose' 1.11.11 Rapzilla. The whole Rehab album was revealed via a listening session on September 26, 2010 on Rapzilla. Lecrae also talks on the video about the concept of the album.Lecrae 'REHAB' Listening Session Rapzilla. The tracks "High", "Just Like You" and "Children of the Light" have been released as digital download singles on the iTunes Store.
Content The opening track on the album, "Check In", is simply about Christian "checking in" to "rehab" and introduces the album's concept. Track two, "Killa", is about how there are always two "women" luring humans—one is foolishness and one is wisdom (Lecrae references Proverbs 5, 8 and 9). In "Killa", Lecrae explains how foolishness will "destroy you". "Divine Intervention" is about the need for someone to intervene in addicts' lives to tell them that their actions affect others detrimentally. "Just Like You", one of the album's singles, is about how we all model our life after someone and conveys the artist's desire to be modeled after Jesus Christ.
Reception
Critical
Rehab received universally positive reviews. Rapzilla's Logan Remy gave Rehab a 4.5/5 rating, calling it "Lecrae's best project to date". He says "The introductory songs all the way to the ending is an incredible ride through the growth of Lecrae," and that "Lecrae is loud and clear in the music."Review: Lecrae 'REHAB'. Rapzilla. Retrieved September 27, 2010. DaSouth.com rated Rehab 4 stars out of 5. Michael Weaver of Jesus Freak Hideout rated the album 5/5 stars, expressing high acclaim for it. He says, "Rehab is a fantastic album and is easily Lecrae's best to date, even topping Rebel. Lecrae is able to show that he is the best and most diverse rapper around." The review suggests to people who rarely listen to hip hop to get this album, even going as far as saying, "This is hip hop perfection."Lecrae, "Rehab" Review. Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved October 17, 2010. The music website AllMusic gave Rehab 4 of out 5 stars. He explains to readers that Rehab "begins with a Christian checking in to rehab and then, through a series of well-written, well-produced songs, tells the story of how he got there."
Commercial The album debuted at No. 17 on the Billboard 200. Rapzilla reported that the debut week sales for Rehab were 25,864 units, about 15,000 more than Lecrae's previous album, Rebel.Lecrae 'REHAB' sells over 25k in its first week. Rapzilla. HipHopDX reported this figure at approximately 28,000 units, ahead of Ice Cube's I Am the West which was released on the same day.Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 10/3/2010 by Allen Jacobs. October 6, 2010. HipHopDX. As of October 26, 2011, the album has sold 124,000 copies sold in the United States.
Awards
The album was nominated for a Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year at the 42nd GMA Dove Awards, while the song "Background" was nominated for Rap/Hip-Hop Recorded Song of the Year.42nd Annual GMA Dove Awards Nominees on DoveAwards.com The album was nominated for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards.
Track listing Standard edition
Deluxe edition
Source:Lecrae 'Rehab' Deluxe 2CD/DVD Album Cover & Tracklisting Rapzilla.
Personnel Credits adapted from AllMusic.
Benjamin "Benjah" Leroy Thom – guitar, keyboards, producer, vocals Ford Clay – guitar Jeff Carruth – drums Cheesebeats – mixing, producer, vocal arrangement Silent – mixing Chris Lee Cobbins – engineer, vocals David Davidson – strings Jonpaul Douglass – inside photo Torrance "Street Symphony" Esmond – producer Tina Fears – vocals Marcus "FLAME" Gray – engineer Haley Hunt – vocals Derek "PRo" Johnson – engineer Kajmir Royale – producer Carlton Lynn – engineer, mixing Alex Medina – producer Andy Mineo – engineer Jacob "Biz" Morris – engineer Jon "JP" Parker – engineer Pastor AD3 – engineer Courtney Peebles – engineer Joseph Prielozny – engineer, acoustic guitar, producer Shane Ries – engineer Natalie Sims – vocals So Sakryfycial – engineer Supa Mario – engineer Zach Wolfe – cover photo
Charts ChartPositionU.S. Billboard 20017U.S. Billboard Top Gospel Albums1U.S. Billboard Top Christian Albums1U.S. Billboard Top Independent Albums1U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums5
Song charts TitleChartPositionWeek"Background"U.S. Billboard Christian Songs39May 12, 2012
References
External links The Rehab Center