Exceleration Music Partners With Reach Records, Bringing New Distribution and Capital to Christian Hip-Hop
Exceleration Music has struck a strategic partnership with Reach Records, the Atlanta-based Christian hip-hop label co-founded by rapper Lecrae, giving the label worldwide physical and digital distribution and a new source of operational backing. The deal was announced on Tuesday, August 11, and covers new music released from 2026 onward. Neither company disclosed financial terms. Music Business Worldwide
Under the agreement, Exceleration will provide what it described as "flexible capital, infrastructure and operational expertise," while Reach continues to operate under its current leadership and team. Reach's distribution will run through Redeye Worldwide, the distributor Exceleration acquired in September 2023 — a move that marked the company's entry into the distribution space. Redeye describes itself as a worldwide distribution and music services company connecting independent artists and labels. Music Business Worldwide
The first release under the new deal is "Clean," a single by US poet and hip-hop artist Jackie Hill Perry. The track received its live debut at the Holy Smoke festival in Nashville on Saturday, August 8, where fans could buy it on a limited-edition KiTalbum — a hybrid physical-digital format in which a collectible cartridge unlocks an album and bonus content through a companion app. The KiTalbum bundle pairs Perry's 2025 album "Blameless" with the single "Clean," ahead of the single's wider digital release on August 21. Music Business Worldwide
The KiTalbum format is made by Korean company Muzlive. It counts toward album sales in South Korea and became a chart-reporting product in the UK in 2025, meaning sales of the format are recognised by the Official Charts Company.
Reach Records president and co-founder Lecrae framed the partnership in cultural terms. "Christian hip-hop isn't on the sidelines anymore, it's shaping culture, and the people making it deserve a home that understands the space," he said. Reach CEO Ben Washer said the label has spent two decades building Reach and chose Exceleration because it shares the label's values of integrity, transparency, and allowing Reach to lead the creative and the brand. Music Business Worldwide
The announcement makes no reference to Reach's ongoing litigation against UMG's Capitol CMG — the distribution arm of Universal Music Group that has historically handled Christian music. That lawsuit remains a separate matter.
For fans, the partnership's most immediate effect is simpler: new music from Reach's roster now has a broader distribution network behind it, and the Jackie Hill Perry single is the first test case.
