Exceleration Music has agreed to a strategic partnership with Reach Records, the Atlanta-based Christian hip-hop label.
The deal gives Reach worldwide physical and digital distribution through Redeye Worldwide, the distributor Exceleration acquired in September 2023.
Exceleration will provide “flexible capital, infrastructure and operational expertise,” according to the announcement, while Reach continues to operate under its current leadership and team.
The agreement covers new music released from 2026. It was announced on Tuesday (August 11). Neither company disclosed the financial terms.
The first release under the deal is Clean, a single from 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).
Fans there 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 bundle pairs Hill Perry‘s 2025 album Blameless with Clean, ahead of the single’s digital release on August 21.
The two companies say the bundle is chart eligible. The format, made by Korean company Muzlive, counts toward album sales in South Korea and became a chart-reporting product in the UK in 2025. Neither company specified the bundle’s US chart status.
Reach alleges that Capitol CMG agreed to buy the label during 2025, then pulled out on September 12, 2025, telling Reach the agreed price was too high.
Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. of the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee denied Capitol CMG‘s motion to dismiss on July 21, sending claims of breach of contract and misrepresentation into discovery.
The Exceleration announcement makes no reference to the litigation.
Lecrae, President and co-founder of Reach Records, said: “Having come up as an artist and executive, I know what it means to have people believe in you and your vision. 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.
“This partnership lets us pour into more artists and build more of the infrastructure our community is hungry for, so the music impacts even more people. That’s what excites me most,” Lecrae added.
“This partnership lets us pour into more artists and build more of the infrastructure our community is hungry for, so the music impacts even more people. That’s what excites me most.”
Lecrae, Reach Records
“We’ve spent two decades building Reach, and I’m proud of what we’ve made,” said Ben Washer, CEO of Reach Records.
“For a partnership to make sense, whoever we work with has to share how we do things. That means integrity, transparency, and allowing us to lead the creative and the brand the way we always have.
“We’ve had the opportunity to reflect on what the next stage of Reach should look like and we’re excited to be partnering with Exceleration — a partner that we trust and backs our vision. I’m excited about what we will achieve together.”
“Through their dedicated commitment to the genre, Reach has built a thriving creative community within Christian Hip-Hop and achieved true brand identity.”
Glen Barros, Exceleration Music
Glen Barros, Managing Partner at Exceleration Music, said: “Through their dedicated commitment to the genre, Reach has built a thriving creative community within Christian Hip-Hop and achieved true brand identity. As a result, they have become an outright leader in the genre, serving both their artists and fans.
“Given Exceleration‘s mission to empower independent music, we hope to provide Lecrae, Ben and the incredible Reach team with additional resources that will enable them to amplify their efforts and elevate the label to new heights.”
The deal lands as faith-based music gains share in the US.
Christian/Gospel ranked as the country’s second-fastest-growing genre in 2025, adding 0.25 percentage points of market share and drawing 30 billion on-demand streams, according to Luminate figures reported by MBW.
Reach joins an Exceleration roster that has widened through a run of acquisitions.
The company bought Detroit jazz label Mack Avenue Music Group in January 2025 and UK independent Cooking Vinyl in June 2025, before taking on the catalog of Los Angeles label Dangerbird Records in October 2025.
Its most recent deal, announced on July 2, saw Exceleration acquire the recording and publishing catalog of Ryuichi Sakamoto in a joint venture with Tokyo-based NexTone.
Exceleration says Reach is both its first dedicated hip-hop partner and its first Christian music label. It has previously held an investment in India’s Azadi Records, whose roster includes hip-hop duo Seedhe Maut and rapper Prabh Deep, as MBW reported in 2023.
Reach was founded in 2004 by Lecrae and Washer. Its releases include Lecrae‘s Reconstruction in 2025 and Hulvey‘s CRY, which won Rap/Hip Hop Album of the Year at the 56th GMA Dove Awards in October 2025.
Lecrae took the Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award at the 2026 BET Awards in June for Headphones, featuring Killer Mike and T.I.
Hulvey released Could Be Tonight in April, having announced in January that it would be his last album for Reach. He said at the time that his contract was up.Music Business Worldwide
