KB (rapper)

KB
Background information
Birth name Kevin Elijah Burgess
Also known as KB, K to the Second Letter
Born July 21, 1988
St. Petersburg, Florida, United States
Genres Christian hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper
Instruments Voice
Labels Reach
Associated acts 116 Clique, HGA
Website whoiskb.com

Kevin Elijah Burgess (born July 21, 1988), better known by his stage name KB, is an American Christian hip hop artist from St. Petersburg, Florida. He is the leader of the hip-hop group HGA, and was signed as a solo artist to Reach Records in 2010. He is also a member of the Reach Records-based hip-hop collective 116 Clique. After releasing a mixtape in 2011 entitled Who Is KB?, his debut album, Weight & Glory, was released on July 17, 2012, to critical acclaim. On March 4, 2014 he released his first EP, 100. On April 21, 2015, he released his second album, Tomorrow We Live.

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 where he was raised for eight years. When he was 8 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] He did well in school and at age 15 was offered an opportunity to pursue college through a program called St. Petersburg Collegiate High School.[2] But despite this opportunity, he struggled with extreme depression and experimented with various drugs to try to relieve it. He began struggling at school due to his problems with his personal life, and even contemplated suicide.[2] During this period of his life he met a Christian named Jeremy who introduced him to Christian rap.[3] Jeremy offered him a CD, and Burgess says he was saved after hearing the Gospel presentation on the recording.[2]

Personal

Burgess is currently married with one child (born 2014).[4]

Formation of HGA

After high school, Burgess enrolled in Bible college and befriended a group of Christian rappers and together 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 were featured with Tedashii on the track "Go" from DJ Official's album Entermission.[5][6] 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]

Signing with Reach Records

Burgess signed with Reach Records in 2010, and appeared that year on the album Rehab by Lecrae.[7] His mixtape Who is KB? followed a year later, as did appearances with PRo and Tedashii.[7][8][9][10] Who is KB? garnered 30,000 downloads by the following year.[7] His first single, "Hello", featured Suzy Rock and was released in October 2011.[11] In January 2012, a second single, "Zone Out" featuring Chris Lee Cobbins, was released.[12] Burgess then made an appearance with Andy Mineo on the Trip Lee album The Good Life.[7] A third single by Burgess, "Go Off", featured Tedashii and Andy Mineo, and was released in June.[13] The following month, his debut album Weight & Glory was released.[14][15]

On May 30, 2013, Reach announced a four-part project entitled "1st & 16th". This project would consist of Burgess releasing a new song every first and sixteenth of June and July. On June 1, Part 1, HCB Freestyle was released.[16] 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 entitled 100, which was released on March 4, 2014.[17] Burgess appeared in Family Force 5 music video for the song "BZRK", released on May 23, 2014, on which Burgess is a featured artist.[18]

On February 3, 2015, KB took to social media to reveal his second studio album, Tomorrow We Live, along with the cover and release date. It's scheduled to be released on April 21, 2015.[19] The first single off the album "Sideways" featuring Lecrae was released on February 23, 2015.[20] The second single "Crowns & Thorns (Oceans)" was released on March 10, 2015.

Discography

Studio albums

Year Title Chart positions
US US Gospel US Christ. US Ind. US Rap
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
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

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: 2011
  • Label: Reach

Multimedia series

Year Title Publisher
2013 1st & 16th Reach

Singles

As lead artist

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Christ.[21] US Gospel[21]
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) — — Tomorrow We Live
"Crowns & Thorns (Oceans)" 31 —
"Ima Just Do It" (featuring Bubba Watson) 37 —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

As featured artist

Title Year Album
"116"
(PRo featuring KB) 		2011 Non-album single
"Passing"
(Json featuring Serge and KB) 		2013 Braille
"All In"
(Flame featuring KB) 		Royal Flush
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Other charted songs

Year Title Chart positions Album
US Christ.[21] US Gospel[21]
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 McDonell & KB) — 22 Below Paradise (Deluxe Edition)
"—" 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

Music videos

As lead artist

Title Year Director
"Zone Out" (featuring Chris Lee Cobbins) 2012 N/A
"HCB Freestyle" 2013 Will Thomas
"Heart Song" (featuring Jasmine Leshea) N/A
"100" (featuring Andy Mineo) 2014 N/A
"Kamikaze" (featuring Prisca)[22] N/A
"Sideways" (featuring Lecrae) 2015 N/A

As featured artist

Title Year Director
"Young" (Andy Mineo featuring KB) 2012 N/A
"One Sixteen" (Trip Lee featuring KB and Andy Mineo)
"BZRK"[18] (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.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Reach Records (July 6, 2012). "KB – Weight & Glory Behind the Music and More (@kb_hga @reachrecords)" (VIDEO/WEB). YouTube. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Reach Records. "KB". Reach Records Official Website. Reach Records. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  4. ↑ "KB Is Breaking The Christian Rap Mold". The GRAMMYs. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Go – Tedashii" (WEB). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Entermission". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Rogers and Cowan PR (July 17, 2012). "Reach Records’ latest hip hop Artist KB, Makes July 17th Debut Release of ‘Weight & Glory’". Breathecast. Christian Post. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  8. ↑ "PRo "116" feat. KB". Rapzilla. January 25, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  9. ↑ Monger, James Christopher. "Blacklight". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  10. ↑ "PRo 'Dying To Live' Tracklisting". Rapzilla. August 2, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  11. ↑ "KB "Hello" feat. Suzy Rock". Rapzilla. October 28, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  12. ↑ "KB "Zone Out" feat. Chris Lee". Rapzilla. January 24, 2011. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  13. ↑ "KB "Go Off" ft. Andy Mineo & Tedashii". Rapzilla. June 7, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
  14. ↑ Ham, Robert (July 17, 2012). "KB: Weight & Glory". Christianity Today. Christianity Today. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  15. ↑ Peterson, Aaron (July 3, 2012). "KB | Weight & Glory" (WEB). The Christian Manifesto. Retrieved July 19, 2012.
  16. ↑ "Reach Records". Reach Records. May 30, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Reach Records". Reach Records. Retrieved May 12, 2014.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Family Force 5 - BZRK [feat. KB] (Official Music Video)". YouTube. Google. May 23, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  19. ↑ David Daniels. "KB reveals new 2015 album title, cover and release date". Rapzilla. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  20. ↑ David Daniels. "Lyric Video: KB - Sideways feat. Lecrae". Rapzilla. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 "KB - Chart history". Allmusic.
  22. ↑ "KB & Prisca - Kamikaze (@KB_HGA @reachrecords)". YouTube. Retrieved February 11, 2015.

External links