KB (rapper)

Kevin Elijah Burgess (born July 21, 1988), better known by his stage name KB, is an American Christian hip hop artist and music executive from St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the leader of the hip-hop group HGA (His Glory Alone). Burgess signed a solo artist contract with Reach Records in 2010. The label has released several projects, including the Who Is KB? mixtape in 2011, Weight & Glory, on July 17, 2012, 100 EP on March 4, 2014, Tomorrow We Live on April 21, 2015, and Today We Rebel on October 20, 2017. He is also a member of the label's collective formerly 116 clique shortened to 116.

KB
Birth name	Kevin Elijah Burgess
Also known as	KB, K to the Second Letter, Moreno Papi Loco, KB the Second
Born	(1988-07-21) July 21, 1988 (age 36) St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Christian hip hop
Occupation	Rapper
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Reach, Native North, Essential Sound
Website	whoiskb.com

He left Reach Records in 2020 and signed with Essential Sound, releasing his fourth studio album, His Glory Alone.

Biography

Early life

Kevin Elijah Burgess was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, on July 21, 1988,^[1] into a military family.^[2] Shortly after his birth, his parents moved to Southern Illinois. When he was eight years old, his parents divorced, and he moved back with his mother to the south side of St. Petersburg, which, according to Burgess, is "probably one of the worst areas in the state."^[2] Although he excelled at a good school and was offered a path to college through a program at St. Petersburg Collegiate High School, he struggled with severe depression. He experimented with various drugs in an attempt to find relief,^[2] which negatively affected his performance at school and led him into a downward spiral, even contemplating suicide.^[2][3]

Formation of HGA

After high school, Burgess enrolled in Bible college, where he befriended a group of Christian rappers. They formed a hip-hop group called HGA, short for His Glory Alone.^[2][3] HGA eventually caught the interest of Lecrae, Ben Washer, and DJ Official,^[3] and was featured alongside Tedashii on the track "Go" from DJ Official's album Intermission.^[4][5] Burgess was invited onto the Acquire the Fire tour by Lecrae and was asked to join the Reach Records team just a few months later.^[3]

The Reach Records Years

Burgess signed with Reach Records in 2010 and appeared that year on Lecrae's album Rehab.^[6] His mixtape Who Is KB? followed a year later, along with appearances with PRo and Tedashii.^[6][7][8][9] Who Is KB? garnered 30,000 downloads by the following year.^[6] His first single, "Hello," featuring Suzy Rock, was released in October 2011.^[10] In January 2012, he released a second single, "Zone Out," featuring Chris Lee Cobbins.^[11] Burgess also appeared with Andy Mineo on Trip Lee's album The Good Life.^[6] In June 2012, he released a third single, "Go Off," featuring Tedashii and Andy Mineo.^[12] Burgess's debut album, Weight & Glory, was released a month later.^[13][14]

On May 30, 2013, Reach Records announced a four-part project entitled 1st and 16th. This project involved Burgess releasing a new song on the first and sixteenth of June and July. On June 1, Part 1, "HCB Freestyle," was released.^[15] The songs "Ride" and "Be All Right" were also part of the 1st and 16th project.

On February 10, 2014, KB announced his new project, an EP titled 100, which was released on March 4, 2014.^[16] Burgess also appeared in Family Force 5's music video for the song "BZRK," released on May 23, 2014, as a featured artist.^[17]

On February 3, 2015, KB announced on social media his second studio album, Tomorrow We Live, including the cover and release date, which was set for April 21, 2015.^[18] The first single from the album, "Sideways," featuring Lecrae, was released on February 23, 2015.^[19] The second single, "Crowns & Thorns (Oceans)," was released on March 10, 2015.^[20]

On October 20, 2017, KB released his third studio album, Today We Rebel.^[21] The first single from the album, "Tempo," was released a year prior to the album's release.^[22] The second single, "Monster," featuring Aha Gazelle, was released on September 15, 2017.^[23]

The Essential Sound Years

In 2020, he announced that he would not be renewing his contract with Reach Records and instead signed with Essential Sound, a Sony Music imprint.^[24]

KB released three singles—"Armies," "10K," and "Lil Boy"—from his fourth studio album, His Glory Alone. The album was released on September 25, 2020.^[25]

On August 11, 2023, KB released his fifth studio album, His Glory Alone II. The album was preceded by five singles: "King Jesus" with nobigdyl., "Graves" with Brandon Lake, "EZ," "Glory 2 Glory," and "Danza." It was followed by a deluxe edition featuring five new tracks.

Personal life

Burgess is married to his wife, Michelle, and they have three children.^[26][27][28]

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Title	Chart positions
		US [29]	US Gospel [30]	US Christ. [31]	US Indie [32]	US Rap [33]
2012	Weight & Glory First studio album Released: July 17, 2012 Label: Reach	34	1	1	9	4
2015	Tomorrow We Live Second studio album Released: April 21, 2015 Label: Reach	18	—	1	2	4
2017	Today We Rebel Third studio album Released: October 20, 2017[34] Label: Reach	91	—	1	8	—
2020	His Glory Alone Released: September 25, 2020 Label: Essential Sound	—	—	4	—	—
2023	His Glory Alone II Released: August 11, 2023
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Note: Beginning in 2015, Billboard rendered most hip hop/rap albums ineligible for the Gospel charts[35]

Collaboration albums

Year	Title	Chart positions
		U.S. Gospel	U.S. Christ.
2011	Man Up (with 116 Clique) Fourth studio album Released: September 28, 2011 Label: Reach	—	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

EPs

Year	Title	Chart positions
		US	US Gospel	US Christ.	US Ind.	US Rap
2014	100 1st EP Released: March 4, 2014 Label: Reach	22	1	1	3	4
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Mixtapes

Year	Title
2011	Who Is KB? 1st mixtape Released: March 22, 2011 Label: Reach

Multimedia series

Year	Title	Publisher
2013	1st & 16th	Reach

Singles

As lead artist

Year	Title	Chart positions		Album
		US Christ.[36]	US Gospel[36]
2011	"Hello" (featuring Suzy Rock)	—	—	Weight & Glory
2012	"Zone Out" (featuring Chris Lee Cobbins)	—	—
	"Go Off" (featuring Tedashii & Andy Mineo)	—	—
2014	"100" (featuring Andy Mineo)	31	18	100
2015	"Sideways" (featuring Lecrae)	29	—	Tomorrow We Live
	"Crowns & Thorns (Oceans)"	31	—
	"Ima Just Do It" (featuring Bubba Watson)	37	—
2016	"Tempo"	48	—	Today We Rebel
2017	"HomeTeam" (featuring Lecrae)	—	—	non-album single
	"Monster" (featuring Aha Gazelle)	39	—	Today We Rebel
2018	"No Chains"	30	—	non-album single
	"Long Live the Champion" (featuring Yariel and GabrielRodriguezEMC)	—	—
	"Die Rich" (featuring Ray Emmanuel)	—	—
2019	"DNOU2"[37]	—	—
	"Hold Me Back"	29	—
	"Lincoln"	43	—
2020	"Armies"	28	—	His Glory Alone
	"10K"	30	—
	"Lil Boy"	41	—
2021	"Worship In The Moshpit"			non-album single
2022	"King Jesus" (featuring nobigdyl.)			His Glory Alone II
	"Graves"	33	—
2023	"EZ"	31	—
	"Glory 2 Glory"
	"Danza" (featuring Nico Eme, Cardec Drums.)
	"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
	Note: Beginning in 2015, Billboard rendered most hip hop/rap songs ineligible for the Gospel charts

As featured artist

Title	Genre	Year	Album
"116" (PRo featuring KB)	Hip Hop/Rap	2011	non-album single
"Passing" (Json featuring Serge and KB)	Christian Hip Hop	2013	Braille
"All In" (Flame featuring KB)	Hip Hop/Rap	2013	Royal Flush
"Northern Sky" (Capital Kings feat. KB)	Dance	2015	II
"O God Forgive Us" (For King & Country featuring KB)	Contemporary Christian	2017	Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong.
"Can't Tell It All (Remix)" (Hulvey feat. KB & Lecrae )	Christian	2021	Coma|
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

Year	Title	Chart positions		Certifications	Album
		US Christ. [36]	US Gospel [36]
2012	"Church Clap" (featuring Lecrae)	—	—	RIAA: Gold[38]	Weight & Glory
2013	"The Saints" (Andy Mineo featuring KB & Trip Lee)	44	18		Heroes for Sale
2014	"Paganini" (Andy Mineo featuring KB & Canon)	46	21		Never Land
	"Undefeated" (featuring Derek Minor)	39	21		100
	"Earthquake" (Tedashii featuring Dimitri McDowell & KB)	—	22		Below Paradise (Deluxe Edition)
2015	"I Believe" (featuring Mattie)	38	—		Tomorrow We Live
2017	"DNOU"	45	—		Today We Rebel
	"Not Today Satan" (featuring Andy Mineo)	32	—
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Guest appearances

Title	Year	Other performer(s)	Album
"Used to Do It Too"	2010	Lecrae	Rehab
"Full Court Mess"	2011	Pro	Dying to Live
"Young"		Andy Mineo	Formerly Known
"You Know What it Is"		Tedashii, PK	Blacklight
"One Sixteen"	2012	Trip Lee, Andy Mineo	The Good Life
"Fuego"		Lecrae, Suzy Rock	Gravity (iTunes edition)
"The Saints Remix"		Black Knight, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee	#ItsTheBlackKnight Beat Tape
"King of the World"	2014	Flame, V.Rose, Mike Real, Nico Wells	Jesus or Nothing
"For Those Who Can't Speak"		Tenth Avenue North, Derek Minor	Cathedrals
"I Wouldn't Know"	2016	Lecrae	Church Clothes 3
"Prove It"		Crowder	American Prodigal
"Back Soon"	2019	1K Phew, Parris Chariz	What's Understood

Music videos

As lead artist

Title	Year	Director	Views
"Zone Out" (featuring Chris Lee Cobbins)[39]	2012	—	3.1M
"HCB Freestyle"[40]	2013	Will Thomas	576K
"Heart Song" (featuring Jasmine Leshea)[41]		—	610K
"100" (featuring Andy Mineo)[42]	2014	Squint	5.9M
"Kamikaze" (featuring Prisca)[43]		—	1.3M
"Sideways" (featuring Lecrae)[44]	2015	Kyle Dettman	8.7M
"Drowning"[45]	2016	Sam Brave	2M
"Tempo"[46]		—	2.6M
"DNOU"[47]	2017	Sam Brave	1.7M
"Not Today Satan" (featuring Andy Mineo)[48]	2018	Nathan Corrona	3.2M
"No Chains"[49]		—	16M
"Long Live The Champions" (featuring Yariel, GabrielRodriguezEMC)[50]		Juan Garcia	9.1M
"Die Rich" (featuring Ray Emmanuel)[51]		—	1.8M
"Hold Me Back"[52]	2019	—	5.2M
"10k"[53]	2020	Juan Garcia	10M
"Lil Boy"[54]		—	1.3M
"Dark Skin" [55]	2021	—	198K
"Libre" (featuring Tommy Royale)[56]		—	1.8M
"Masterpiece" [57]		—	1M
"This Is Life" [58]		—	1.1M
"Worship In The Moshpit"[59]		—	1.4M
"So Tired"[60]		—	554K
"King Jesus" (featuring nobigdyl)[61]	2022	—	3.7M
"Graves" (featuring Brandon Lake)[62]		Joan Garcia	1.9M
"Graves - Acoustic" (featuring Brandon Lake)[63]		—	523K
"EZ" [64]	2023	—	1M
"Glory 2 Glory" [65]		—	1.9M
"Danza" (featuring Nico Eme, Cardec Drums)[66]		—	2.2M
"Miracles" (featuring Lecrae)[67]		—	3.4M
"It Ain't Safe" [68]	2024	—	328K
"Friends" (featuring Ty Brasel)[69]		—	82K

As featured artist

Title	Year	Director
"Young" (Andy Mineo featuring KB)	2012	Kyle Dettman
"One Sixteen" (Trip Lee featuring KB and Andy Mineo)	2012	—
"BZRK"[17] (Family Force 5 featuring KB)	2014	Ryan Hamblin

References

1. KB official Twitter account (July 21, 2014). "Amazing birthday by way of my lovely wife!". Twitter. Retrieved February 8, 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
2. Reach Records (July 6, 2012). "KB – Weight & Glory Behind the Music and More (@kb_hga @reachrecords)" (Video/Web). Retrieved July 23, 2012 – via YouTube.
3. Reach Records. "KB". Reach Records Official Website. Reach Records. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
4. "Go – Tedashii" (Web). Billboard. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
5. "Entermission". AllMusic. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
6. Rogers and Cowan PR (July 17, 2012). "Reach Records' latest hip hop Artist KB, Makes July 17th Debut Release of 'Weight & Glory'". Breathecast. Archived from the original on January 19, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
7. "PRo "116" feat. KB". Rapzilla. January 25, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
8. Monger, James Christopher. "Blacklight". AllMusic. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
9. "PRo 'Dying To Live' Tracklisting". Rapzilla. August 2, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
10. "KB "Hello" feat. Suzy Rock". Rapzilla. October 28, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
11. "KB 'Zone Out' feat. Chris Lee". Rapzilla. January 24, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
12. "KB 'Go Off' ft. Andy Mineo & Tedashii". Rapzilla. June 7, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
13. Ham, Robert (July 17, 2012). "KB: Weight & Glory". Christianity Today. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
14. Peterson, Aaron (July 3, 2012). "KB | Weight & Glory". The Christian Manifesto. Archived from the original (Web) on January 5, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
15. "Reach Records". Reach Records. May 30, 2013. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
16. "Reach Records". Reach Records. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
17. "Family Force 5 – BZRK [feat. KB] (Official Music Video)". May 23, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014 – via YouTube.
18. Daniels, David (February 3, 2015). "KB reveals new 2015 album title, cover and release date". Rapzilla. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
19. Daniels, David (February 23, 2015). "Lyric Video: KB – Sideways feat. Lecrae". Rapzilla. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
20. "Rapper KB Says 'Tomorrow We Live' was Inspired by African 'Motherland'; Album Focuses on Emotions of a Day [VIDEO INTERVIEW]". www.breathecast.com. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
21. "Today We Rebel by KB on Apple Music". iTunes Store. October 20, 2017. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
22. "Tempo – Single by KB on Apple Music". iTunes Store. August 5, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
23. Solis, Steven (September 15, 2017). "Music: KB – Monster ft. Aha Gazelle". Retrieved November 15, 2017.
24. "KB Inks Deal with Sony Imprint – Essential Sound; New Album 2020". Rapzilla. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
25. "His Glory Alone by KB on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
26. Sahms, Jacob (March 4, 2019). "KB Knows the Power of the Gospel". Dove.com. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
27. KB (January 18, 2020). "Her name is Nala. And she has my heart forever. Welcome, my beautiful daughter". Twitter. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
28. "Bay area man becomes top Christian hip hop artist". baynews9.com. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
29. "KB Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
30. "KB Chart History: Gospel Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
31. "KB Chart History: Christian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
32. "KB Chart History: Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
33. "KB Chart History: Rap Albums". Billboard. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
34. "KB Reveals 'Today We Rebel' Cover & Release Date with Partial Tracklist". Rapzilla. September 14, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
35. Shellnutt, Kate (February 15, 2015). "Why Grammy Winner Lecrae Will Never Dominate the Gospel Charts Again". Christianity Today. Christianity Today International. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
36. "KB – Chart history". Billboard.
37. Sarachik, Justin (April 5, 2019), "KB – DNOU2", Rapzilla, retrieved June 3, 2019
38. "American single certifications – KB – Church Clap". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
39. "KB - Zone Out ft. Chris Lee (@kb_hga @reachrecords)". Retrieved January 5, 2012 – via YouTube.
40. "KB - HCB Freestyle (@kb_hga @reachrecords)". June 2013. Retrieved June 2, 2013 – via YouTube.
41. "KB - Heart Song ft. Jasmine Le'Shea (@Kb_hga @reachrecords)". June 16, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2013 – via YouTube.
42. "KB - 100 ft. Andy Mineo - OFFICIAL VIDEO (@kb_hga @reachrecords)". February 28, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2014 – via YouTube.
43. "KB & Prisca – Kamikaze (@KB_HGA @reachrecords)". July 31, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2015 – via YouTube.
44. "KB - Sideways ft. Lecrae (@ReachRecords @KB_HGA)". April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2015 – via YouTube.
45. "KB - Drowning". June 6, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016 – via YouTube.
46. "KB - Tempo (@KB_HGA @ReachRecords)". July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016 – via YouTube. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
47. "KB - DNOU Official Music Video". October 16, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017 – via YouTube.
48. "KB – Not Today Satan feat. Andy Mineo". March 30, 2018. Retrieved March 31, 2018 – via YouTube.
49. "KB - No Chains". April 17, 2018. Retrieved April 18, 2018 – via YouTube.
50. "KB - Long Live the Champion feat. Yariel, GabrielRodriguezEMC (Official Music Video)". July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 18, 2018 – via YouTube.
51. "KB - Die Rich feat. Ray Emmanuel (Official Visual)". November 27, 2018. Retrieved November 28, 2018 – via YouTube.
52. "KB - Hold Me Back (Official Music Video)". May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 3, 2019 – via YouTube.
53. "KB - 10k (Official Music Video)". July 9, 2020. Retrieved July 10, 2020 – via YouTube.
54. "KB - Lil Boy (Official Music Video)". September 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020 – via YouTube.
55. "KB - Dark Skin (Official Lyric Video) ft. Black Violin". July 9, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2021 – via YouTube.
56. "KB - Libre (Official Lyric Video) ft. Tommy Royale". February 25, 2021. Retrieved March 20, 2021 – via YouTube.
57. "KB - Masterpiece (Official Music Video)". April 30, 2021. Retrieved May 1, 2021 – via YouTube.
58. "KB - This Is Life (Official Lyric Video)". June 25, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021 – via YouTube.
59. "KB - Worship in the Moshpit (Official Music Video)". March 19, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021 – via YouTube.
60. "KB - So Tired (Official Music Video)". November 18, 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021 – via YouTube.
61. "KB, nobigdyl - King Jesus (Official Music Video". February 25, 2022. Retrieved February 26, 2022 – via YouTube.
62. "KB, Brandon Lake - Graves (Official Music Video)". October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via YouTube.
63. "KB x Brandon Lake - Graves (Official Acoustic Video)". October 27, 2022. Retrieved December 3, 2022 – via YouTube.
64. "KB - EZ (Official Music Video)". December 2, 2022. Retrieved March 24, 2023 – via YouTube.
65. "KB - Glory 2 Glory (Visualizer)". July 7, 2023. Retrieved July 8, 2023 – via YouTube.
66. "KB, Niko Eme, Cardec Drums - Danza (Official Music Video)". July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023 – via YouTube.
67. "KB, Lecrae - Miracles (Official Music Video)". August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 11, 2023 – via YouTube.
68. "KB - It Ain't Safe (Music Video)". February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024 – via YouTube.
69. "KB - KB, Ty Brasel - Friends (Music Video)". August 2, 2024. Retrieved August 2, 2024 – via YouTube. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)

External links

• Official website
• KB at Reach Records