Trip Lee takes Liberty by storm

Popular rapper kicks off his tour on campus

Trip Lee took the stage at the LaHaye Event Space Thursday, Feb. 5 to kick off his Rise tour.

Hundreds of students gathered in line outside the venue hours before the doors for opened, waiting to get spots with the best view of the show.

“I was so impressed by Trip’s performance,” Liberty sophomore Rachel Sizemore said. “His new music is so great, but even better than that was his preaching and deliverance of the message that we have hope in Christ.”

Trip Lee released his album “Rise” Oct. 27 and released his second book entitled “Rise: Get Up and Live in God’s Great Story” to accompany the music Jan. 27. Both of these projects are purposed to inspire people to live to their fullest potential.

“I wanted to put out the album first and then use the album to point to the book,” Trip Lee said. “The book really goes into our role in God’s story and how we need to do our best to figure out the best way that we can highlight him where we are so we can tell that story well.”

Trip Lee is excited to continue combining his songs with spoken word throughout the tour, testing out the combination for the first time when he performed at Liberty.

“This was a unique show because I tried to take music from the album and content from the book and put them together in a unique concert, discussion experience,” Trip Lee said.

Trip Lee’s heart is to showcase the gospel and point people to Christ. He shared that he is continually stunned at the impact a song or lyric can have in a person’s life, and he is looking forward to seeing how the Lord works through this medium during the tour.

The last time Trip Lee was on campus, he was opening up for Tedashii with Christon Gray. This show in the Vines Center attracted a large crowd, but Trip Lee said he was excited for the environment of the new venue on campus.

“At first, I was disappointed that this show wasn’t going to be in the Vines Center,” freshman Katelyn Hill said. “But once I got inside the LaHaye Event Space and the artists started performing, I knew that this would be a hype show and everyone’s energy would be higher in the smaller area.”

Opening for Trip Lee on the Rise tour is Christian hip-hop artist KB, who is also touring for the release of his second album.

“KB, one of my favorite artists, is coming out to all of these shows on the tour too,” Trip Lee said. “So I’m really excited.”

KB sang songs from his album “Weight & Glory” and warmed up the audience for Trip Lee’s performance.

“The shows that I think are best are the ones where the crowd is really into it,” Trip Lee said. “I like to create an experience where I am doing something with the crowd rather than them just staring, and I definitely have that experience every time I perform at Liberty.”

Trip Lee’s new album is available for purchase through his website builttobrag.com or through iTunes.

NADEAU is a guest writer.