His fans know Lecrae best as a rapper, hip-hop artist and songwriter, but this Christmas season, he’s got a big announcement. Big in a biblical sense.
He’s playing the role of the angel Gabriel in the film Journey to Bethlehem. Yes, that Gabriel, the angel who announces the good news of great joy to Mary.
“I’d always looked for opportunities, and I put that feeler out there, and a friend of mine had said, ‘Hey, there’s an opportunity for you to audition for this particular Journey to Bethlehem movie,’” he explained in a recent interview with BNG. “I went into that audition completely unprepared. I thought I was prepared. I was not prepared. I thought I could coast. It was much harder than I thought. However, they gave me a chance to go back and hire an acting coach and try out again, which the second time I got the role.”
Not only did he gain new experience as an actor, but preparing to play the part of Gabriel caused him to dig deeper into the biblical story behind the film.
“When you have to play a character, you kind of want to understand what’s the motivation, who are you,” he said. “And so I had to start digging into the Scriptures and just seeing, OK, what was Gabriele’s role? And wow, he brought the news of the Savior of the world to Mary, so there’s a weight there. And I just wanted to make sure I could capture the powerful part of Scripture and the importance of Gabriel.”
As Lecrae expands from his well-known base as a musician, he’s working to understand his own motivation as well.
“I’ve been praying and asking the Lord, ‘How would you like to use me in this season?'”
“I’ve been praying and asking the Lord, ‘How would you like to use me in this season? What should I be doing with my time?’ I love music. It’s something I enjoy. I realized I am a communicator who uses music as a form of expression. So, whether it’s a book, a movie or music, I want to communicate.”
He’s aware of his influence not only as a musician but as a cultural influencer among his fans.
“If you’re creating culture, you’re always looking, learning, processing, so you can create something different, that people can say, ‘Wow, I hadn’t experienced this,” he said.
His next form of communication will be a podcast that will debut next year. “I can’t wait to debut what I’ve been working on,” he said.
He also influences younger creatives through his Reach Records label. “That’s just cool to me, that creatives from all over can come in here and do God’s work,” he said.
Already, he’s learned the challenges of remaining faithful to his own values while working inside the evangelical church. He was criticized for speaking out on the “Black Lives Matter” movement, and he’s OK with taking on those critics.
“I’m not going to make everyone happy,” he said. “The funny thing about it is, in my day-to-day interaction, and when I’m living in my real life, I don’t deal with any of that. Most of us don’t. I only deal with it when I’m looking at my phone for it.”
For now, Lecrae hopes his fans will join others in theaters to see Journey to Bethlehem, which is a musical featuring Antonio Banderas as King Herod, Fiona Palomo as Mary, Milo Manheim as Joseph, and Joel Smallbone as Herod’s son, Antipater.
The film also may be purchased or rented to view at home.
Publicity for the film says: “This live-action Christmas musical adventure for the entire family weaves classic Christmas melodies with humor, faith and new pop songs in a retelling of the greatest story ever told, the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. A unique new entry into the collection of holiday classic movies, this epic Christmas musical is unlike any before it.”
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