Happy Birthday, Lecrae!

It wasn't too long ago that Christian hip-hop was brushed off as a substandard form of rap for a very specific audience. That's not really the case anymore thanks to multiplatinum-selling artist Lecrae. The Grammy Award-winning rap star turns 38 years old today (Oct. 9).

After a childhood of neglect, Lecrae's teen years were filled with promiscuity and frequent drug use. By the time he was 19, he started to turn life around and embraced the Bible thanks to the influence of his grandmother.

A few years after converting, Lecrae applied his newfound faith to appealing to Christian hip-hop fans. He released his first album, Real Talk, in 2004, but he didn't receive a sizable amount of mainstream acclaim until 2010's conceptual album, Rehab. Gravity, released in 2012, won him a Grammy for Best Gospel Album.

Lecrae's biggest achievement came in 2014, when he released Anomaly. Not only did it get props from critics, but it also was the first album ever to top both the Billboard 200 and the Gospel Albums chart. The song "Messengers" won him a Grammy trophy for Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song.

In May 2016, Lecrae secured himself a heavenly partnership. The Houston-born, Atlanta-based MC inked a distribution deal with Columbia Records for his indie label Reach Records. In September, he released All Things Work Together.

“It’s a journey through chaos and hope and brokenness and blessing,” Lecrae told XXL about the project. “When you’re in the middle of the chaos, you can come to realize that it is shaping you, creating endurance. It’s knowing that the struggle can bring about a richness in character beyond all wealth. Part of the DNA of this album is the realization that all things do work together to make you into the person that you need to be.”

Happy 38th Birthday, Lecrae!