I must Tell The World, Tell The World Everywhere I Go!

Lecrae

I am unashamed to say that my wife and I attended a rap and hip-hop concert earlier this week at the Fabulous Fox Theatre.

The Fabulous Fox

Grammy award-winning rapper Lecrae brought his Anomaly Tour to the Gateway City on April 30, 2015. The three-hour concert, featuring Andy Mineo and DJ Promote, provided uplifting messages of hope and heavy doses of realness.

An anomaly is defined as something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected. Lecrae’s Anomaly 2.0 concert definitely had it’s share of anomalies. Let me see, where shall I begin.

Anomaly #1
I grew up listening to rock-n-roll, heavy metal and even a little country music. For me, rap was not on my playlist. I didn’t even like the music. The most rap that I listened was “Parents Just Don’t Understand!” by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (Did I just date myself?).  But as I have matured, so have my music selections. While I still will listen to some of my favorites, I now also listen to music that has an uplifting message, no matter the genre. Lecrae is currently one of my favorite artists because he delivers a message of overcoming the obstacles that life throws at you.

Lecrae

Anomaly #2
This is the third time in just over a year that my wife and I have seen Lecrae in concert. Last year, we attended our first Winter Jam concert and the Summer Shed concert when they stopped here in Saint Louis; both of which featured Lecrae. Lecrae is now the artist that I have seen in concert the most, more than Def Leppard, Bon Jovi and REO Speedwagon – all of which were bands that I attended concerts while in high school and college.

Lecrae

Anomaly #3
Prior the concert, my wife and I eat dinner with our friends who are also big Lecrae and Andy Mineo fans. Eugene and Roxanne grew up in Los Angeles. Although the LA area is vastly different and much larger than Vienna, MO where I grew up (3.8 million people versus 603 people), we all came together and enjoyed the food, fellowship and then the concert.  They were so sweet because they blessed us with dinner. We got to get a picture together next time, enjoying the fellowship. We didn’t get a chance to take a picture this time. They are also true-blue Laker fans (but I won’t hold that against them). We also were able to see our other friends Marc and Peggy and their family.

My wife and I eating dinner at the City Diner before the concert.

Anomaly #4
We purchased our tickets back in February and were able to get awesome seats in Row J — about ten rows from the stage. Considering how costly some concerts can be today, paying only $48 for these tickets was such a great deal. Plus, the fact that the show lasted three hours made it an even better value. Not long ago, when Mrs. Carter had her concert in Saint Louis, we paid almost three times as much, for seats much further from the stage and the show lasted only an hour and a half. Still shaking my head over that one! What was I thinking? (I don’t know!!) You learn.

Anomaly #5
We purchased these tickets as deluxe tickets, which meant we were able to arrive early for a ‘meet and greet’ with Andy Mineo. My prior experiences with VIP tickets that give you an opportunity to meet the band, you will be paying two, three or four hundred dollars a ticket, maybe even more. I never bought VIP tickets because I didn’t want to pay such a high price, but for only $48 – what a deal! People asked Andy questions and he answered them and shook people’s hands as well as ours.

Andy Mineo

 After the meet and greet, we purchased a STL Lecrae tour T- shirt and I had to wear it to represent. Pretty nice don’t ya think.

The Anomaly STL T-Shirt in Cardinal Red

Anomaly #6
It was great to see many people attend this concert as a family unit. I saw many parents jamming with there teenaged-children, posing for selfies, taking pictures and having a great time. In my experiences with previous concerts, I usually would see adults, and teenagers, but they did not come together as a family. This concert was different, and it was good to see.

Anomaly #7
When I was growing up, rap and hip hop were considered alternative music and only a small group of people listened to the music. But today, more people accept these genres and the music has moved into the mainstream, so much so that the concert’s demographics surprised me. The audience was very diverse and I can I say, I was there. The concert included a guest appearance from Saint Louis’ own Thi’sl for duet on Lecrae’s hit song, Fakin’.

Lacrae and Thi’sl getting ready to perform Fakin’

Anomaly #8
In all that I have said about the concert, I have not mentioned that Lecrae, Andy Mineo and DJ Promote are Christians and their music promotes strong Christian values. Why? I didn’t want you to have a prejudiced view of Christian rap and hip hop before I talked about the concert. That being said, I believe it is an awesome gift these men bring to the stage. There are some people who would say that Christian rap and hip hop are not true Christian music, almost to the point of being considered ungodly. However, I would disagree. Any music, no matter the style or genre, that has an objective to reach an audience with uplifting words and inspirational messages, and that can tell the world about God and His Son, Jesus Christ, is worth having on your playlist. These three men succeed at making music that achieves this objective.

If had a chance to catch the Anomaly Tour, leave a comment below and let me know what you thought about the show.

Jay and JT at Lacrae Concert

Jay

This post is dedicated to our concert rodees Roxanne and Eugene!  Until the next concert.