Lecrae Says He ‘Shouldn’t Be Alive’…But God

Published: April 9, 2026

By Kayla DeKraker

Rapper Lecrae doesn’t let his past define him, even though he experienced a rough upbringing.

“I didn’t grow up in church,” he said in a clip from “The Pivot Podcast” posted to Instagram. “I come out of a lower working-class community. My uncles was gang members. I sold stuff I shouldn’t have sold. Police threw me in the back of the car more times than I can count. So, I’m used to being in the jungle. The church is the greenhouse, but I’m more comfortable as a bridge.”

“I feel like God had His hands on me because I shouldn’t be alive,” he said in the caption.

He previously told CBN that he kept a Bible in his car as a “good luck charm.” One night, cuffed in the back of a police car, the officer did something that changed his life.

“The police officer goes to the back of my car, and he saw the Bible. He came back to the police car and said, ‘Son, you’ve got a Bible in your car. Do you know what that Bible is about?’ I was like, ‘I need to.’ He said, ‘Today, I’m going to let you go, ‘cause I want you to get into that Bible and I want you to start living it.’ That really did something to me. I didn’t want to get into any kind of trouble like that again,” Lecrae said.

Though he lived a double life for a while, a near-fatal car crash caused him to finally surrender to Christ.

“I was radically changed. To realize that I had been living a lie, to realize that I was unsatisfied, and I would never be satisfied until I came to Jesus was so revolutionary to me that I wanted everyone to taste it,” Lecrae said. “I wanted everyone to see how awesome God was.”

People in the comment section of the podcast’s post praised Lecrae for his vulnerability.

“Awesome! Love this man. Hes [sic] so real,” one person said. Another fan wrote, “This is the type of stuff that gets me hype. @lecrae literally has been one of the most influential voices for me over the past decade and hearing him share on this platform is amazing to see.”

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Lecrae is proof that God can take a broken past and turn it around. He’s earned lots of recognition for his music.

“Last year, Lecrae took home two Grammy Awards for Church Clothes 4 and for the song ‘Your Power,’” Forbes reported in November 2025. “This year, he is nominated again for two more Grammys, including ‘Headphones’ with Killer Mike and T.I. His artistic relevance has lasted for decades. Such longevity does not happen by accident.”

For him, music allows him to share the truth.

“As I look back on things and see our sustainability and longevity, I think it was because we were just passionate about two things: truth and seeing people transformed,” Lecrae said. “The music was the vehicle, but when you’re chasing truth, you move wherever truth is.”

What a powerful reminder that God can use any person who surrenders to Him to further His kingdom.

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