Hip-Hop publication giant HipHop DX caught up with Lecrae to discuss some controversy that has come up concerning his new mixtape "Church Clothes". He addressed lines on the mixtape about Jay-Z and Lil Wayne, helping No Malice wrestle through spiritual issues and more. Check it out:

HipHopDX: First off, speak a bit on the concept of the title-track.

Lecrae: It’s really just exposing the hypocrisy on both sides of the fence. You got individuals who never wanna speak about the hypocrisy in religion and in church. And, that’s a deterrent for a lot of people is the hypocrisy. But then, on the other side of the fence, you got individuals who say, “Well, if y’all gon’ be messed up, I’ma be messed up,” without investigating to see if there is actually a community of people who really don’t wyle out …. 

DX: And you were basically saying that hypocrisy in the church shouldn’t keep folks away from Christianity?
 
Lecrae: Yeah, absolutely. I deal with it on a regular basis, with me being a Hip Hop artist and a Christian. And so people [in the church] see me and they immediately say, “Oh you got visible tattoos, and you got Hip Hop clothes on.” So they instantly judge me right alongside all the Hip Hop that is misogynistic or violent. And I’m not like that, but I catch the flack for that. So it’s the same type of thing.   

DX: Well let me inquire a little bit about your own possible hypocrisy. Is there porn on Lecrae’s laptop? [Laughs]

Lecrae: Nah, nah, nah. [Laughs] I was kind of speaking in third person [in the song]. But, the reality is that there’s a lot of people who think that being a Christian means that you’re perfect and you have it all together. And that’s not reality. So, has Lecrae ever struggled with pornography? Absolutely. And so I’m a work in progress. 

DX: I know your lyrical aim is to not come off as holier-than-thou, but do you worry at all that the self-examination that you ask folks to do of themselves in your rhymes throughout this mixtape might come across as a sort of moral certitude that’ll turn some listeners off?

Lecrae: Yeah, I’m sure it will. And that’s not my intention, but everybody’s at a different place. And everybody has presuppositions, [but] I think if they give me a chance and actually sit with the mixtape for a second they’ll see I’m not somebody who has it all together. 

The whole point of Church Clothes is to say not to put on airs. Don’t put on airs for me, don’t put on airs for God. I’m definitely gonna accept you as you are, and that’s definitely God’s agenda as well.

Read the full interview on HipHopDX