Suddenly the lights go out. The crowd screams, excited for the next act, the reason why we all gathered together in this crowded space tonight. A white light illuminates the silhouette of a man. Lecrae has taken to the stage.

So the Higher Learning tour took place on a university campus? Hmm. . .

Spring Arbor University had been advertising that Lecrae was performing on campus as part of his Higher Learning tour for months now, and I was thrilled that the moment had finally arrived. My younger brother Max came up for the event and was also excited; he’s just one of those people whose face and actions rarely betray his emotions. It was fitting that he was the person I was going to see Lecrae with, as he was the person who had gotten me into Christian rap. Since then I’ve gone with him and his cronies to see Andy Mineo in Detroit during his Uncomfortable tour. Now that show, in the words of Lecrae, was lit! I eagerly hoped tonight’s crowd would have the same kind of energy.

As the screams show, I was not disappointed. While the crowd followed along with the two opening acts attempts to get them engaged, they started going crazy all on their own when Lecrae took the stage. The best part was I was in the center of that crowd; I was part of the group going crazy.

Not the show I was at, but it was just as glorious

I know some people like live performances because they feel recorded music is inaccurate, that it doesn’t capture the sound heard from the stage. Others love seeing their favorite artist in person and connecting with fellow fans. I can’t speak for my brother, but the reason why I love concerts is because artists often tell stories about their lives and what inspired their music. It is these stories that make their music come alive and have meaning to me. These stories prove the artist has a message embedded in his or her lyrics, that he or she isn’t just trying to sell you a product.

For example, Lecrae talked about how after he released Rebel and Rehab, some close friends challenged him to expand his music and ministry to address real-life events and connect to the millions who don’t attend church. As a result, the first and second volumes of Church Clothes were recorded and released for free despite strong protest toward the project. (In fact, both are still available for free download on DatPiff.com for anyone interested.) He also told some anecdotes from his college days that got the audience laughing.

What he said that stuck with me the most was that gifts are meant to point back to the Giver. So often when we receive gifts from others, we think it’s all about ourselves and forget it’s also about the person giving the gift. The person giving the gift is demonstrating their love and compassion to us, and if they never gave us the gift then we would have never received it. This was something that was never fully explained to me before; I often used thank-yous to express my gratitude in the moment and then forget about the giver. So while the lights and smoke effects were definitely hype and the crowd was lit, it is these stories that will always be the heart of the show for me. They are what I will remember in the years to come.