Reach Records is expanding its reach without giving up control.
The Atlanta hip-hop label has entered a strategic partnership with Exceleration Music that adds global distribution, marketing support, capital and operational infrastructure around the company Reach has spent more than two decades building.
Under the agreement, Exceleration-owned Redeye Worldwide will handle physical and digital distribution for Reach’s new releases around the world. The partnership applies to music released from 2026 forward, while Reach keeps its ownership, leadership and creative control.
That makes this more than a routine distribution switch, but it is not an acquisition. Reach remains independent.
Reach Keeps Control While Adding Scale
The deal gives Reach access to Redeye’s global retail and direct-to-consumer network. It will also expand the label’s physical distribution internationally.
Exceleration will provide capital, infrastructure and operational support. Reach becomes both Exceleration’s first hip-hop label partner and its first Christian music label.
Reach President and co-founder Lecrae said the goal is to build more infrastructure around the artists and community the label serves.
“Christian hip-hop isn’t on the sidelines anymore, it’s shaping culture,” Lecrae said. “The people making it deserve a home that understands the space.”
Reach CEO Ben Washer said preserving the label’s independence was central to finding the right partner.
“We’ve spent two decades building Reach, and I’m proud of what we’ve made,” Washer said. “For a partnership to make sense, whoever we work with has to share how we do things.”
Jackie Hill Perry Opens the New Chapter
The first release under the Exceleration partnership will be Jackie Hill Perry’s “Clean.”
Perry debuted the song Aug. 8 at Holy Smoke Festival. Fans there could buy a limited-edition KiTalbum combining her 2025 album, Blameless, the new single and bonus content.
“Clean” is scheduled for a full digital release Aug. 21.
Perry’s Blameless is also nominated for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year at the 2026 Dove Awards. Lecrae’s Reconstruction appears in the same category. King Kulture has the full 2026 Dove Awards nominations here.
A Different Kind of Deal After Capitol CMG
The Exceleration partnership arrives while Reach remains in litigation over a proposed acquisition by Capitol Christian Music Group that never closed.
Reach sued Capitol CMG in late 2025, alleging that the company agreed to purchase Reach and later backed away after extensive due diligence. Capitol CMG disputes that a binding sale agreement existed.
A federal judge denied Capitol CMG’s motion to dismiss the case in July. The ruling allows Reach’s breach-of-contract and misrepresentation claims to continue, but it does not determine whether Capitol CMG ultimately violated an agreement.
The new Exceleration arrangement takes a different approach. Reach gets additional distribution, capital and infrastructure without selling the label or giving up creative control.
Reach Records Continues to Grow
Reach’s current roster includes Lecrae, Tedashii, Trip Lee, 1K Phew, WHATUPRG, Anike, Limoblaze, Jackie Hill Perry and others.
The label has also expanded through 2819 Worship while continuing to develop the 116 brand and its broader hip-hop roster.
King Kulture has followed several of those artists over the years, including Lecrae’s “I’m Turnt” and Swoope’s “#SameTeam remix,” which featured Jackie Hill Perry alongside several other artists.
The Exceleration deal gives Reach a larger global distribution and business platform while leaving the people who built the label in control of what comes next.