Reach Records

Reach Records is an American independent record label specializing in Christian hip hop. The label was founded in 2004 by Ben Washer and the hip-hop artist Lecrae. In addition to Lecrae, the Reach Records roster contains artists Andy Mineo, Tedashii, Trip Lee, Gawvi, 1K Phew, WHATUPRG, Wande, and Hulvey. The hip-hop collective 116 operates under the label and consists primarily of the label's solo acts. The artists Aha Gazelle, Derek Minor, KB and Sho Baraka were formerly signed to the label, and DJ Official was under the label until his death. Reach Records is distributed by Columbia Records, a division of Sony Music Entertainment.

Reach Records
Founded2004 (2004)
FounderLecrae, Ben Washer
Distributor(s)Columbia Records
GenreChristian hip hop
Country of originUnited States
LocationAtlanta, Georgia
Official websitewww.reachrecords.com

History

Formation and early successes (2004–2010)

Reach Records began in Dallas in 2004, when 25-year-old amateur rapper named Lecrae teamed up with Ben Washer, a friend he met while doing youth ministry.[1][2][3] According to Lecrae, knowing that people emulate the musicians they hear, it made sense to develop an "urban" label with Christian values.[4]

In the same year that the label was formed, it released Lecrae's debut album, Real Talk, and in the following year, a more established Christian hip-hop label Cross Movement Records re-released the album, which charted at No. 29 on the Billboard Gospel chart.[5] Also in 2005, Lecrae formed the hip hop group 116 Clique with his friends Sho Baraka, Tedashii and Trip Lee, and co-founded the affiliated organization ReachLife Ministries to help minister to urban youth.[2][6] Over the next five years, Reach Records released albums by 116 Clique, Lecrae, Sho Baraka, Tedashii and Trip Lee, meeting with increasing commercial success. Lecrae's 2008 third studio album, Rebel, became the first Christian rap album to top Billboard Gospel chart, and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top Christian chart while Trip Lee's 20/20 hit No. 2 on the Gospel chart.[7][8][9]

In 2009, Lecrae moved from Houston to Atlanta re-locating the Reach Records in the process, and Tedashii released his second studio album, Identity Crisis, which charted at No. 2 on the Gospel chart.[10][11] In 2010, Lecrae topped the Billboard Gospel, Christian, and Independent charts, and hit No. 7 on the Top Rap chart, with Rehab. Trip Lee topped both the Gospel and Christian charts with Between Two Worlds, and Sho Baraka reached No. 3 on the Gospel chart with Lions and Liars.[8][9][12] Sketch the Journalist, a blogger for Houston Chronicle, considered that year's Reach Records Unashamed Tour raising the bar for a traveling Christian hip hop concert.[13] Also in 2010, KB, a member of the hip hop group HGA, signed with Reach as a solo act.[14]

Mainstream breakthroughs (2011–present)

In January 2011, Derek Minor, then known as Pro, joined the Reach roster in a partnership deal with his own label, Reflection Music Group.[15] In April, Sho Baraka announced that he was leaving Reach Records, though he continued to tour under the label for the remainder of that year, and remained signed with Reach Booking.[16][17] In the same month, Reach and its affiliate ReachLife announced that they had renewed their contracts with the distribution company Infinity Music and its parent, Central South Distribution.[18] The label announced in July that another artist, Andy Mineo, previously known as C-Lite, had signed with the label.[19] That November, HipHopDX published a story on the filmmaker Art Hooker, who was working on the documentary film Unashamed, which traces the rise of Reach Records and 116 Clique and their contribution to the global underground Christian hip hop movement.[20]

DaSouth.com noted the high level of activity by the label in 2011, and considered the biggest move that the label that year was its Man Up campaign, a multimedia initiative by 116 Clique which featured a studio album, full-length film, and accompanying curriculum, panel discussion, and concert tour.[21]

In 2012 Reach continued to bring Christian Hip Hop into the mainstream market when it became the first record label to hold its own showcase at the South by Southwest festival.[22][23] Sketch the Journalist mentioned on DaSouth.com that the appearance of Reach was part of a larger surge of hip hop artists, both Christian and non-Christian, at the festival, as according to him "many are saying that 2012 was the year hip hop took over the South by Southwest festival."[23] XXL noted that the label had "a string of well-received and commercially successful album releases and tours" that allowed it to become more prominent.[24] Trip Lee released The Good Life, topping the Christian and Gospel charts and reaching No. 3 on the Rap chart, KB debuted his first studio album, Weight & Glory, at No. 1 on the Christian and Gospel charts and No. 9 on the Independent chart, and Lecrae released both his highly popular mixtape, Church Clothes, and his Grammy Award-winning sixth album Gravity, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and topped the Gospel, Christian, Independent, and Rap charts.[8][9] In 2013, label affiliates were part of DJ Don Cannon's showcase at South by Southwest.[25]

2013 saw the releases of Andy Mineo's first studio album, Heroes for Sale, on April 16 which charted No. 11 on the Billboard 200 chart,[26] and sold 28,000 units the first week.[27] Derek Minor's fourth album, Minorville, was released on September 10. It was his second and last with Reach. Minorville charted No. 1 on Billboard Gospel chart and sold over 8,000 units the first week.[28] Lecrae's mixtape, Church Clothes 2, was released on November 7 and made available for free on DatPiff.com and also sold through iTunes and Reach's website. The mixtape was downloaded over 100,000 times in the first two weeks, and reached to No. 21 on the Billboard 200 chart.[29]

2014—present

January 28, 2014 saw the release of Andy Mineo's EP Never Land, selling 26,000 units the first week, charting at No 13 overall on the Billboard 200.[30] On March 4, KB released his EP entitled 100. The EP peaked to No. 22 overall on Billboard 200 while selling 14,000 units the first week.[31] Tedashii released his fourth album, Below Paradise, on May 27, three years after his previous release. The album peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200, while selling more than 13,800 units the first week.[32] Lecrae released Anomaly, the follow-up to the Grammy-winning album Gravity on September 9.[33] The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 88,587 copies in the United States.[34] It is the first time an album topped both the Billboard 200 and the Gospel Albums chart. Lecrae also became the fifth artist, after Chris Tomlin (2013), TobyMac (2012), LeAnn Rimes (1997) and Bob Carlisle (1997) to score a No. 1 album on both Christian Albums and the Billboard 200. Anomaly also marks the sixth time that Lecrae topped the Gospel Albums chart and the fifth time he topped the Christian Albums chart. Since then, Lecrae has released two albums. He released All Things Work Together in 2017 and Let the Trap Say Amen (a collaborative album with Zaytoven) in 2018. He has also been featured on many single hits, including "Coming in Hot", his latest, a duo with Andy Mineo.[35] In its second week of sales, the album sold 27,000 copies, bringing the total to 115,000 copies sold.[36] In its third week of sales, the album sold another 17,000 copies, bringing the total to 137,000 copies.[37] As of October 8, 2014, the album has sold 149,000 copies.[38]

On January 13, 2016, Reach Records announced that one of its on-staff producers, Gawvi, formerly known as G-Styles, was signed as an official artist, and that he would be releasing his first studio album, We Belong. It was released March 2017.

Artists

Current
Act Year
signed		 Releases
under the label
Lecrae 2004 10
116 Clique 2005 5
Tedashii 2005 5
Trip Lee 2005 6
Andy Mineo 2011 8
Gawvi 2016 3
1K Phew[39] 2017 3
WHATUPRG 2018 2
Wande 2019 1
Hulvey 2020 2

Former
Act Years
under the label		 Releases
under the label
Sho Baraka 2005–2011 2
Derek Minor 2011–2014 2
Aha Gazelle 2017–2018 2
KB 2010–2020 4
  • Derek Minor is currently with Reflection Music Group and eOne, with which Reach signed a dual distribution deal during Derek Minor's tenure at Reach.

Producers
  • Joseph Prielozny[40]
  • Nate "The Beatbreaker" Robinson[41]
  • Dirty Rice

Other instrumentalists and staff

Former staff

Certifications

Reach Records received its first official RIAA certification when Lecrae went gold with 500,000 units of his Anomaly album, recognized on August 26, 2016. He went gold again with his ATWT single "I'll Find You" featuring Tori Kelly on March 27, 2018.[47]

Andy Mineo went gold, his first plaque, with "You Can't Stop Me," recognized by the RIAA on January 17, 2018.[48]

Catalog
Artist Album Details[49]
Lecrae Real Talk
  • Released: 2004; re-released September 21, 2005
  • Chart positions: No. 29 U.S. Gospel (2005)
116 Clique The Compilation Album
  • Released: December 27, 2005
Trip Lee If They Only Knew
  • Released: May 26, 2006
116 Clique The Compilation Album: Chopped & Screwed
  • Released: July 6, 2006
Lecrae After the Music Stops
  • Released: September 24, 2006
  • Chart positions: No. 5 U.S. Gospel
Tedashii Kingdom People
  • Released: October 3, 2006
116 Clique 13 Letters
  • Released: July 7, 2007
  • Chart positions: No. 10 U.S. Gospel
116 Clique Amped
  • Released: August 28, 2007
  • Chart positions: No. 10 U.S. Gospel
Sho Baraka Turn My Life Up
  • Released: November 20, 2007
  • Chart positions: No. 43 U.S. Gospel
Trip Lee 20/20
  • Released: May 20, 2008
  • Chart positions: No. 193 U.S., No. 4 U.S. Gospel
Lecrae Rebel
  • Released: September 30, 2008
  • Chart positions: No. 60 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel
Tedashii Identity Crisis
  • Released: May 26, 2009
  • Chart positions: No. 137 U.S., No. 2 U.S. Gospel
DJ Official Entermission
  • Released: December 26, 2009
Sho Baraka Lions and Liars
  • Released: March 30, 2010
  • Chart positions: No. 149 U.S., No. 3 U.S. Gospel
Trip Lee Between Two Worlds
  • Released: June 22, 2010
  • Chart positions: No. 58 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 10 U.S. Rap
Lecrae Rehab
  • Released: September 28, 2010
  • Chart positions: No. 17 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 5 U.S. Rap
Lecrae Rehab: The Overdose
  • Released: January 11, 2011
  • Chart positions: No. 15 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 4 U.S. Rap
KB Who Is KB?
  • Released: March 22, 2011
Tedashii Blacklight
  • Released: May 30, 2011
  • Chart positions: No. 63 U.S., No. 2 U.S. Gospel, No. 9 U.S. Rap
PRo Dying to Live
(released with Reflection Music Group)
  • Released: August 23, 2011
  • Chart positions: No. 66 U.S., No. 2 U.S. Gospel, No. 11 U.S. Rap
Andy Mineo Formerly Known
  • Released: September 9, 2011
116 Clique Man Up
  • Released: September 27, 2011
Trip Lee The Good Life
  • Released: April 10, 2012
  • Chart positions: No. 17 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 3 U.S. Rap
Lecrae Church Clothes
  • Released: May 10, 2012
Andy Mineo Saturday Morning Car-Tunez
  • Released: June 28, 2012
KB Weight & Glory
  • Released: July 17, 2012
  • Chart positions: No. 34 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 4 U.S. Rap
Lecrae Gravity
  • Released: September 4, 2012
  • Chart positions: No. 3 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 1 U.S. Rap
Lecrae Gravity: The Remix EP
  • Released: December 17, 2012
Andy Mineo Heroes for Sale
  • Released: April 16, 2013
  • Chart positions: No. 11 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 4 U.S. Rap
KB 1st & 16th
  • Released: June 1, 2013
Derek Minor Minorville
(released with Reflection Music Group)
  • Released: September 10, 2013
  • Chart positions: No. 40 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 6 U.S. Rap
Lecrae Church Clothes, Vol. 2
  • Released: November 7, 2013
Andy Mineo Never Land
  • Released: January 28, 2014
KB 100
  • Released: March 4, 2014
Tedashii Below Paradise
  • Released: May 27, 2014
  • Chart positions: No. 17 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 2 U.S. Rap
Lecrae Anomaly
  • Released: September 9, 2014
  • Chart positions: No. 1 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 1 U.S. Rap
Trip Lee Rise
  • Released: October 27, 2014
  • Chart positions: No. 16 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 2 U.S. Rap
KB Tomorrow We Live
  • Released: April 21, 2015
  • Chart positions: No. 18 U.S., No. 4 U.S. Rap
Andy Mineo Uncomfortable
  • Released: September 18, 2015
  • Chart positions: No.10 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No. 1 U.S. Independent, No. 3 U.S. Rap
Lecrae Church Clothes 3
  • Released: January 15, 2016
  • Chart positions: No.12 U.S., No.1 U.S. Gospel, No.1 U.S. Independent, No.1 U.S. Rap, No.3 U.S. Digital
Tedashii This Time Around
  • Released: March 4, 2016
  • Chart positions: No.9 U.S. Gospel, No.19 U.S. Rap, No.20 U.S. Independent
Gawvi Lost in Hue
  • Released: July 30, 2016
Gawvi Holding Hue
  • Released: September 9, 2016
Trip Lee The Waiting Room
  • Released: December 9, 2016
  • Chart positions: No. 7 U.S. Gospel, No. 9 U.S. Rap, No. 11 U.S. Independent
Gawvi We Belong
  • Released: March 31, 2017
Aha Gazelle Trilliam 2
  • Released: June 9, 2017
Lecrae All Things Work Together
  • Released: September 22, 2017
  • Chart positions: No. 11 U.S., No. 1 U.S. Gospel, No.6 U.S. Rap
KB Today We Rebel
  • Released: October 20, 2017
1K Phew Never Too Late
  • Released: October 27, 2017
Aha Gazelle Trilliam 3
  • Released: November 3, 2017
Andy Mineo Chapter 1:The Arrow
  • Released: April 27, 2018
WHATUPRG Pleasant Hill
  • Released: May 25, 2018
Lecrae Let the Trap Say Amen
(collaborative album with Zaytoven)
  • Released: June 22, 2018
Reach Records Summer Eighteen[50]
  • Released: July 20, 2018
Andy Mineo Chapter 2: The Sword
  • Released: September 21, 2018
Gawvi Panorama
  • Released: October 19, 2018
116 Clique The Gift: A Christmas Compilation
  • Released: November 23, 2018
1K Phew What's Understood
  • Released: February 15, 2019
WHATUPRG Raul
  • Released: March 1, 2019
Tedashii Neverfold
  • Released: March 8, 2019
Reach Records Summer Nineteen
  • Released: July 19, 2019
Andy Mineo Work in Progress
  • Released: August 23, 2019
1K Phew What's Understood 2
  • Released: October 31, 2019
116 Clique The Gift: A Christmas Compilation (Deluxe)
  • Released November 29, 2019
116 Clique Live Forever (featuring 1K Phew, Aaron Cole, Hulvey, Tedashii, Tommy Royale, Trip Lee, Wande)
  • Released January 15, 2020
Hulvey Prelude
  • Released: January 22, 2020
Hulvey BRKNHRT.
  • Released: February 21, 2020
Lecrae, YK Osiris Set Me Free
  • Released: March 20, 2020
Gawvi Heathen
  • Released: April 10, 2020
Wande Exit
  • Released: April 24, 2020
1K Phew, 1K Pson Outside
  • Released: May 1, 2020
Lecrae Deep End
  • Released: June 23, 2020
1K Phew, 1K Pson New Forth of July
  • Released: July 3, 2020
Lecrae, John Legend Drown
  • Released: July 17, 2020
Reach Records Summer Twenty
  • Released: July 31, 2020
Lecrae Restoration
  • Released: August 21, 2020

See also

References
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  2. "Lecrae". Reach Records. Reach Records. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  3. AHH Staff and Grandmaster Grouchy Greg (April 8, 2012). "Five Christian Hip-Hop Acts You Should Know". AllHipHop. AHH Holdings. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  4. DeWitt, Amanda (2012). "Lecrae: How God brought him from searching for significance to serving his Savior. A look at the man, his music, and his message". Dallas Family Magazine. Christian Lifestyle Publications. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
  5. "Real Talk - Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  6. Jeffries, David. "Sho Baraka". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  7. Rood, Philip (October 16, 2008). "Lecrae Rebel still #1 on Billboard's Top Gospel Album Chart". Rapzilla. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  8. "Lecrae". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  9. "Trip Lee". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2012.
  10. Landrum, Jonathan (June 1, 2012). "Gospel artists flock to Atlanta to advance career". Yahoo! Finance. Associated Press. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  11. "Tedashii". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  12. "Sho Baraka - Awards". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  13. Sketch the Journalist (December 28, 2010). "Top 10 Christian Rap Stories of 2010". Jesus Musik. Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  14. Rood, Philip (September 21, 2010). "Reach Records Signs New Artist: KB". Rapzilla. Philip Rood and Chad Horton. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  15. Rood, Philip (January 25, 2011). "Reach Records signs PRo". Rapzilla. Philip Rood and Chad Horton. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  16. Rood, Philip (April 13, 2011). "Sho Baraka's New Future - Leaving Reach Records". Rapzilla. Philip Rood and Chad Horton. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  17. "Reach Booking". Paradigm Agency. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  18. Horton, Chad (April 12, 2011). "Reach Records re-signs with IFINITY Music / Central South Distribution". Rapzilla. Philip Rood and Chad Horton. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  19. DaSouth.com (July 28, 2011). "Reach Records announces signing of Andy "C-Lite" Mineo at Legacy Conference". DaSouth.com. DaSouth Network. Archived from the original on January 21, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  20. Lassiter, Chris (November 18, 2011). "Filmmaker Art Hooker Chronicles Lecrae, Reach Records And Rise Of Christian Hip Hop In 2012 Film "Unashamed"". HipHopDX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  21. Sketch the Journalist (January 4, 2012). "10 Biggest Christian Hip Hop News Stories of 2011". DaSouth.com. DaSouth Network. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  22. Horton, Chad (February 6, 2012). "Reach Records Lands Official SXSW Showcase". Rapzilla. Philip Rood and Chad Horton. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  23. Sketch the Journalist (March 26, 2012). "RECAP: DaSouth.com & Reach Records Invade SXSW 2012". DaSouth.com. DaSouth Network. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  24. Fleischer, Adam (April 24, 2012). "Trip Lee – The Come Up". XXL. Harris Publications. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  25. Sketch the Journalist (March 11, 2013). "Lecrae & Reach Records' artists perform alongside secular rappers at SXSW '13". DaSouth.com. DaSouth Network. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
  26. "Heroes for Sale". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
  27. "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 4/21/2013". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on April 27, 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
  28. "This Week's Billboard Top Gospel CDs: Gospel Rap Artist Derek Minor Takes #1".
  29. "Reach Records Streams Church Clothes 2" (Web). Indie Vision Music. November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2013.
  30. Andres Tardio (February 5, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Week Ending 2/2/2014". HipHop DX.
  31. "KB '100' Posts Strong First Week Sales, Tops Christian Billboard Chart". Wade-O Radio. Archived from the original on March 15, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  32. JoshIVM (June 4, 2014). "Tedashii Hits The Billboard Charts". Indie Vision Music. Archived from the original on August 17, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  33. "iTunes Album page; Lecrae 'Anomaly'". iTunes. Apple. September 9, 2014. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  34. Tardio, Andres (September 17, 2014). "Hip Hop Album Sales: Lecrae, Jhene Aiko, Jeezy". HipHop DX. Cheri Media Group. Retrieved September 17, 2014.
  35. Caulfield, Keith (September 17, 2014). "Lecrae Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
  36. HitsDailyDouble https://web.archive.org/web/20140915012320/http://www.hitsdailydouble.com/sales/salescht.cgi. Archived from the original on September 15, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  37. "Hip Hop Album Sales: Chris Brown, Jennifer Hudson, Lecrae, Jeezy". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  38. "Hip Hop Album Sales: Prince, Chris Brown, Childish Gambino". HipHopDX. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  39. Sarachik, Justin (October 6, 2017). "Lecrae Announces 1K Phew Will Join Reach Records". Retrieved October 6, 2017.
  40. Prielozny, Joseph. "Joseph Prielozny". LinkedIn. LinkedIn Corporation. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  41. Solis, Steven (June 3, 2013). "Lecrae appears and performs on BET's 106 & Park". Rapzilla. Philip Rood and Chad Horton. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  42. Sarachik, Justin (March 4, 2019). "Reach Records' Ace Harris Talks Daily Duties & How Artists Can Improve". Rapzilla. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
  43. Solis, Steven (December 20, 2012). "DJ Official & Alex Medina 'Gravity The Remix' EP Cover, Release Date & Special Guest Producers Revealed". Rapzilla. Philip Rood and Chad Horton. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  44. "Reach Records, Director of A&R". Natalie Lauren. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
  45. Sketch the Journalist (February 10, 2013). "Lecrae wins 2013 Grammy Award". DaSouth.com. DaSouth Network. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  46. Tre9 (July 25, 2011). "VIDEO INTERVIEW: DJ Official of Reach Records". DaSouth.com. DaSouth Network. Archived from the original on July 21, 2013. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
  47. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  48. "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". RIAA. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
  49. "Releases | Reach Records". Reach Records. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
  50. Reach Records – Summer Eighteen Playlist
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