Trip Lee

Atlanta-based Christian rapper, author, and pastor William Lee Barefield III, widely recognized by fans as Trip Lee, updates faith-centered themes through polished, mainstream rap productions. His dynamic, faith-infused releases have consistently registered on multiple Billboard rankings, including the 2012 project The Good Life that bridged gospel and rap formats as well as the 2014 album Rise that reached the Billboard 200’s upper tier at number 16. His sixth studio effort, The End., arrived in 2022, with the companion mixtape The Epilogue. following in 2023.

Born in Dallas, Texas, Lee helped establish the Southern Christian rap collective 116 Clique during his teenage years. After relocating from Dallas, he pursued studies at Christian universities in Philadelphia and then Louisville, Kentucky. His debut full-length, If They Only Knew, surfaced in 2006. The follow-up, 20/20, issued two years later, included contributions from Reach Records associates Lecrae, Tedashii, and Sho Baraka; the set entered the Billboard 200 and climbed to the Christian albums chart’s top ten. Between Two Worlds, released in 2010, became his first release to lead the Christian rankings. Two years afterward, The Good Life repeated that Christian-chart feat while also appearing on rap lists; Lee issued a matching book shortly thereafter and declared his intent to emphasize ministry work. He kept writing and later assumed a pastoral role. Rise, his fifth album from 2014, marked his strongest Billboard 200 placement to date and his third top-three Christian entry. A second book, Rise: Get Up and Live in God’s Great Story, followed in 2015. The mixtape The Waiting Room emerged near the close of 2016. The End. featured appearances by Taylor Hill, KB, Wande, and additional artists, while The Epilogue. incorporated performances from Madison Ryann Ward and Kirk Franklin.