Lecrae wants to transcend that dynamic. "My music is not Christian—Lecrae is," he said. "And you hear evidence of my faith in my music."

He also said he sees himself as counter-cultural, but perhaps the better term is "cross-cultural." His music troubles the stereotypes of both Christian music and mainstream rap—it doesn't really feel wholesome or sanctified, but it's also filled with self-deprecation and explicit warnings about immoral behavior. He also has a role in the recently released movie Believe Me, about four students who try to exploit church-goers to raise money. Again, it's Christian—but not in a way that's predictable.

Reach Records, the label he co-founded and co-owns with his childhood friend Ben Washer is explicitly evangelical; as the company's website says, "the heartbeat of Reach is Romans 1:16, 'For I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.'" None of the songs on Anomaly is preachy, though, except maybe "Runners," which is about cheating in relationships. He demurred on whether he tries to proselytize in his art, but did say that spreading the gospel is a "battle."

"We’ve limited Christianity to salvation and sanctification," he said. "Christianity is the truth about everything. If you say you have a Christian worldview, that means you see the world through that lens—not just how people get saved and what to stay away from."

This means writing about things other than heaven and the glory of God. While that kind of music is necessary, he said, "Christians need to embrace that there need to be believers talking about love and social issues and all other aspects of life."

In other words, people who identity as Christian—or religious in general—are also people; the music they listen to doesn't have to just be about their faith, but it's also possible for faith to be part of the music they like. That hasn't been the focus in some parts of the Christian music industry, Lecrae said.

"The exploitation of believers just to turn a profit—so you care less about making a quality product, you just want to keep telling the same stories and repackaging them over and over just to exploit people—I have a problem with that," he said.

In terms of the product he makes, Lecrae's work sounds nothing like most people’s idea of Christian music—the genre has been dominated by rock musicians like Switchfoot and Relient K for the past half decade. But even as someone who self-identifies as a hip-hop artist, Lecrae is also at odds with the rap business.

"[The] whole industry thinks that it’s sustained by a lawless worldview," he said. After Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson this summer, Lecrae tweeted, "Dear Hip Hop, we can't scream 'murder, misogyny, lawlessness' in our music & then turn around and ask for equality & justice." The tweet was later deleted.