Rapper and author Trip Lee, born William Lee Barefield III, recently joined Faithfully Magazine for a live discussion about his career, new projects, and more.
Lee’s debut album, “If They Only Knew,” was released in 2005, and his subsequent albums have hit the Billboard Top 200 and earned a Stellar Award and nominations for the GMA Dove Awards.
In 2012, the married father of three stepped away from music to pursue training as a pastor. Since then, he has released two albums, “Rise” and “The Waiting Room.” His newly released single and music video, “You Got It,” is Lee’s first new music since 2016. He is also the author of two books, The Good Life and Rise: Get Up and Live in God’s Great Story.
In his recent discussion with Faithfully Magazine, Lee touched on several topics, including his new project, how he thinks Christians should handle doubt, where he finds inspiration, and more. The transcript below has been edited for clarity.
It’s been 16 years since the release of your debut album. During your career, you also took some time away from music to pursue training to become a pastor. Can you take a step back and talk about ways in which your approach to music may have changed throughout your career?
So, first of all, you didn’t have to mention how long it’s been since my first album. That makes me feel much older than I am! But, yeah, my first album came out in 2006, so I think it has been about 15 years. Since The Waiting Room, which came out in 2016, I think maybe the only thing I’ve put out is a couple of singles, tours, or something like that. But yeah, it’s been a minute. Ways my music has changed? I mean, as much as a person can change in that much time. When I wrote my first album, I was in high school. I was literally in high school. I was going to class. I went to chemistry class for third period, you know what I’m saying? I was a senior in high school.
