Lecrae's autobiography is so good. There were many parts about his past that I didn't know and it was really interesting to hear about all of the chaos, and learn which situations and moments God used to pursue him. His story was sometimes sad, sometimes funny, and overall, very encouraging.

Listening to him explain the beliefs and thoughts that permeated his upbringing, and even held influence in his life after he became a Christian, was a needed reminder for this white, suburban girl that I often take my worldview for granted - and that it's just dumb to project my own moralistic thinking onto others whose backgrounds are completely different. I sort of expect people to know what I know, or I assume that others hold (or should hold!) my same opinions about everything. It's difficult to wrap my brain around others' beliefs sometimes, since it requires "forgetting" what I already know.

Living life as a Christian is a long, sometimes difficult, process - no matter the Christian person's specific background. I was encouraged to give more grace to others and myself, recognizing that God is still at work and He knows I'm not going to measure up. That's why He did for me what He did!

I listened to the audiobook, which Lecrae reads, and I loved hearing his own inflections. Also, each chapter began with a song clip, and I liked hearing him rap those lyrics rather than just reading them on a page.

I've already thought of several people I'm going to recommend this to - it's definitely a worthwhile read! ( )

Interesting and insightful. I fell like I understand Lecrae better now as a person and as an artistt. ( )

Inspirational. ( )

This young man's story is all too familiar. What's incredible is his willingness to tell the whole truth while Glorifying Jehovah. I'm proud to have read this wonderful testimony. I pray other's will read this book and learn that they are not alone in their struggles to live a fruitful life for Christ...SMILE!!!

I gave this book 3 stars, but that doesn't mean I think it is average. That rating simply reflects by torn mind about this book. On one hand it deserves 5 stars! On the other hand, it might scrape one star.

On the positive side: Lecrae tells an honest story - gut-wrenchingly honest at points - of his rise to hip-hop stardom. Even more impressive than his honesty is his journey of grappling with the secular/sacred divide that has distorted the thinking of so many modern believers. Lecrae shares my viewpoint that such a divide compartmentalizes the Christian experience and does not recognize God's rule over all areas of life. I also love the references to Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling by Andy Crouch. I haven't read this book... yet. But I will. According to Crouch (as sited by Lecrae), Christians relate to culture in 4 primary ways: the blindly consume culture, they critique or condemn culture, they copy culture, or they create culture. Reading this book influenced Lecrae to move from being a "christian hip hop artist" to being a hip-hop artist who is a Christian. In my opinion, people who don't appreciate or understand that shift (usually Christians), are willfully and joyfully blind to the nasty underbelly of the "Christian" music industry. I love how Lecrae walks readers through the transition in his thinking.

On the negative side, three primary things disturbed me about Unashamed. First, I felt like Lecrae's honest story-telling was too honest. In a book with 187 pages of content, roughly 122 of the pages document his pre-Lordship days. He borders, in my opinion, on glorifying his fallenness. It almost reads like he is grasping for "street cred." And, according to his book, this guy experienced everything! Sex, drugs, drug peddling, violence, abuse, selling drugs to highschoolers - you name it, he did it. After about 30 pages, I got the picture. Second, I'm confused (and worried that readers might be confused) by the language he uses on page 116. He writes, "I had been set free, but I was still living like a slave to my old life and old habits and old ways. I'd been liberated from slavery, but slavery had not been liberated from me. I saw Jesus as my Savior, but not my Lord" (emphasis added). Based on what I know of Lecrae's theology, I doubt that he would separate Lordship from salvation. I hope he wouldn't! But this one paragraph was enough of a flashing red light to make me wonder. Even if it is clear to him, I worry that it might not be clear to his readers. I realize my theological critique falls in the direction of what irked Lecrae so much about the Christian community. If he reads this (yeah, right?!), I hope he will hear my heart: I love you and your vision, bro! Lastly, and most cynically, most of the things in this book are in the "unverifiable" category. The majority of the book lies in a distant past place. The things that are on the more modern end of the spectrum are extremely subjective. The only reason I bring up this critique is that I am a child of the "Mike Warnke" era. Mike Warnke was a "Christian comedian" who totally fabricated a backstory to build an audience and extend his influence. When his deception was revealed it hurt a lot of people. I am not saying that Lecrae has done this. I'm simply saying that we can't know if he has; so much of his back story is anecdotal. I admit that this critique is probably (hopefully) unfounded. My past experience, however, has caused me to read biographical works through this skeptical lens.

So, my overall opinion of Unashamed is mixed. I think it is spectacular at points (chapters 9 and 10 in particular); I think it is extremely and unnecessarily disturbing at other points. Still, you should read it. Better yet, listen to Lecrae's music - it's really good art. And I think that statement would make Lecrae happy despite my other concerns. ( )