Why Faith-Based Hip-Hop/R&B Is Becoming the ‘New Mainstream’ (Guest Column)

The growing prominence of faith-based/Christian hip-hop and R&B, aka Rhythm + Praise, is resonating far beyond the traditional radio airwaves. It’s making notable shifts into film, TV, sports and even the gaming world. Rhythm + Praise (R+P) artists possess the ability to marry powerful messaging with innovative sounds and, in the process, are finding their music being featured in an ever-expanding range of media — often in ways directly impacting the cultural landscape.

Sitting between gospel and contemporary Christian music (CCM), Rhythm + Praise bridges gospel with contemporary styles, offering a more modern, relatable sound for younger audiences. R+P offers an alternative to mainstream secular messages: non-traditional in format, melody, lyrics and production. Not limited to religious beliefs, these artists foster themes of hope, redemption, mental health awareness and positive living.

According to Luminate, in the first 30 weeks of 2025, on-demand audio streams of songs in the core Christian/gospel genre — which were also categorized in the sub-genre of R&B/hip-hop —totaled 1.37 billion, up from 878 million during the same 30-week period in 2024. These figures are inclusive of user-generated content (UGC) streams.

Four-time Grammy winner Lecrae and Dove Award-winning artist NF have been paving the way in faith-based hip-hop for years. Both artists have individually accumulated billions of streams and video content views. Lecrae has 2.03 billion and NF has 13.28 billion on-demand official audio and video streams for all of their songs, over the course of their careers, in the U.S. through Sept. 25, according to Luminate. (Note: These figures do not include UGC streams.) Given the powerful reach of their music, both NF and Lecrae have successfully secured licensing and sync opportunities in the sports gaming arena, marketing their music via the NBA, ESPN and Madden NFL video game series.

Another example is emerging independent hip-hop artist Miles Minnick. He recently released his first album, Via Dolorosa, through his GLO label joint venture with EMPIRE. Minnick is also reaching beyond the church-going audience via his first sports gaming sync placement, “Lowkey Wildin,” with NBA 2K25. His growing base of more than 500,000 fans — aka GLO Nation — prompted the launches of his GLO Festival in the San Francisco Bay Area and his own clothing line, Christlike. Minnick also made history in March when he became the first Christian hip-hop artist to headline a stage at Rolling Loud Los Angeles.

Noting that Gen-Z and millennials are demanding more uplifting content, Minnick says a major cultural shift, which he tags the “New Mainstream,” is happening. “New Mainstream isn’t just a phrase — it’s my lifestyle,” he explains. “It means putting faith at the center of culture and proving you can be bold about your beliefs while making a real impact. Whether it’s getting the stamp [of approval] collaborating with rap icon E-40, launching a label, performing at Rolling Loud or selling out tours, I’m showing the world that you don’t have to change who you are to change the world.”

Mainstream artists are also magnifying messages of faith in their music. From Drake (“God’s Plan”) and DJ Khaled (“God Did”) to Mustard (“Pray for Me”) and GloRilla, who won her first BET Award for best gospel/inspirational song (“Rain Down on Me” featuring Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music, Kierra Sheard and Chandler Moore), these artists are helping to broaden the crossover space for faith-based music.

The same thing is happening on the label front. Co-founded with Ben Washer in 2004, Lecrae’s Reach Records is now seeing other music companies join the movement, including EMPIRE and Universal Music Group. Earlier this year, the latter relaunched legacy label Tamla with a faith-based hip-hop/R+P artist roster that includes Childlike Cici and Dante Pride. One of Tamla’s artists, Dove Award nominee Lee Vasi, performed at this year’s BET X 106 & Park Experience in Los Angeles. And gamma., home to Mariah Carey and Usher, established a joint venture with Grammy-winning producer Rodney Jerkins’ R+P imprint Alienz Alive with signees Alex Jean, Jon Keith, Aha Gazelle and nobigdyl.

While streaming numbers are strong, streaming radio still remains an important promotional tool in expanding audience reach. And that’s thanks to shows like the Trendsetter Sense-hosted Chosen Journey on SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation channel and Da Fixx on SiriusXM’s Christian hip-hop/R+P channel, Holy Culture Radio. Holy Culture owner James Rosseau Sr. partnered with SiriusXM in 2022 to cater to a burgeoning audience of more than 5 million listeners, per Nielsen Compass.

Film and TV are also homing in on the faith-based market. Producers Tyler Perry and DeVon Franklin, heavy hitters in both of those arenas, joined forces with Netflix for Ruth + Boaz. The just-released film features the original song “Faithful,” penned specifically for the project by Grammy-winning artist/producer Babyface. It also appears on the film’s five-song companion EP.

As a music supervisor starting out in faith-based television programming, I produced season 2 of the award-winning soundtrack album for the hit series Greenleaf. I’ve seen firsthand how the power of positioning faith-based hip-hop/R+P artists on a major network show (scripted or unscripted) can help break their music and expand their brand.

In response to that and other above-referenced factors, I established the traveling roundtable series Faith + Sync in L.A. this year. I wanted to provide a unique platform to discuss how faith is influencing culture, creative direction, content placement and the future of music in film, TV and digital media. And also to offer the opportunity to connect with influential voices in those mediums who are shaping the conversation about how faith-based/R+P artists are influencing music, sync licensing and culture.

Through changing demographics, streaming power and strong independent success stories, faith-based hip-hop/Rhythm + Praise is debunking assumptions by mainstream media about its audience size, relevance and impact. As this movement gains stronger momentum, I’m committed to joining all those building the bridge to keep pushing this music forward like EMPIRE president Tina Davis. “Inspirational hip-hop/R&B isn’t new,” says Davis. “But there’s a new wave of anointed young talent across the globe raising their hands in their God’s name. And it’s needed!”

Angela M. Jollivette, founder of Moonbaby Media Inc. and Faith + Sync, is an award-winning music supervisor/producer whose credits include the major network series Greenleaf, Sunday’s Best, Black Ink Crew: New York/Chicago/L.A. and Norman Lear’s final TV production, Clean Slate.