Da' T.R.U.T.H.

Christian rapper Da' T.R.U.T.H. moves organically through the various phases that have led him down an artistic path of faith-centered hip-hop. He found Christianity at a young age and became interested in music in his teenage years, though he didn't consider becoming a rapper until he tried his hand at freestyling, almost on a lark. He has built a catalog of award-winning and chart-placing devotional music that includes the Stellar Award-winning albums The Faith (2005) and Open Book (2007). The latter LP started a streak of albums that have reached the Top Ten of Billboard's Christian and gospel charts, continued with projects such as The Big Picture (2009), Love Hope War (2013), and It's Complicated (2016). His releases in the 2020s include Bridges (2020), a collaboration with Limoblaze, and Emanuel (2023), on which he was joined by Fred Hammond, Yolanda Adams, and Kim Burrell.

Born in Philadelphia in 1977, Da' T.R.U.T.H. was first known as Emanuel Lee Lambert, Jr. His early life included both an awakening to the Christian faith as well as music, and he played drums throughout his teens. He went to school at various religious universities and upon graduating slowly began building a music career with his original rap compositions, beginning in 2003 with a string of releases on Cross Movement Records. The label released the first Da' T.R.U.T.H. material in the form of the EP, Who Is the Truth. A year later, his debut album, Moment of Truth, appeared, with The Faith following in 2005. The Faith won the Stellar Award of Rap/Hip-Hop Gospel CD of the Year in 2007. That same year his Open Book album arrived, winning its own Stellar Award and earning a Grammy nomination in 2008. The ambitious effort The Big Picture landed in 2009 with a guest appearance from Kirk Franklin. It climbed to number two on Billboard's Gospel Albums Chart, as did the following 2011 effort The Whole Truth, and 2013's Love Hope War. Featuring guest appearances from Lecrae, Papa San, and Tedashii, 2014's Heartbeat was his fourth album in a row to "suffer" this second-place fate. The autobiographical It's Complicated followed in 2016 and had crossover appeal -- it reached number 11 on the Top Rap Albums chart.

Da' T.R.U.T.H. toured frequently over the next two years and worked on a new album, which arrived in 2018 in the form of the succinct Vet. The self-released eight-track set featured the Samoht collaboration "Brand New." Da' T.R.U.T.H. then partnered with Limoblaze for Bridges, containing "Sound of Victory," an Afrobeats excursion that quickly racked up over one million streams. Previewed by "Nights in Atlanta," another one of Da' T.R.U.T.H.'s most popular songs, Emanuel followed in 2023 with a star-studded array of featured appearances. ~ David Jeffries, Rovi