Christian Hip Hop

Christian hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop whose lyrics profess Christian faith: testimony, theology, worship and evangelism delivered in the forms of mainstream rap. Musically it is largely indistinguishable from secular hip hop of its era, adopting boom bap, trap and pop-rap production as fashions change; the distinction is lyrical and communal, sustained by its own labels, festivals, media and church networks. Originating in the 1980s, the genre built a parallel industry before its leading figure, *Lecrae*, carried it to the top of the Billboard charts in the 2010s without diluting its confessional content.