# 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.
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, into a military family. 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." 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, which negatively affected his performance at school and led him into a downward spiral, even contemplating suicide.

### 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. HGA eventually caught the interest of Lecrae, Ben Washer, and DJ Official, and was featured alongside Tedashii on the track "Go" from DJ Official's album Intermission. 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.

### The Reach Records Years

Burgess signed with Reach Records in 2010 and appeared that year on Lecrae's album Rehab. His mixtape Who Is KB? followed a year later, along with appearances with PRo and Tedashii. Who Is KB? garnered 30,000 downloads by the following year. His first single, "Hello," featuring Suzy Rock, was released in October 2011. In January 2012, he released a second single, "Zone Out," featuring Chris Lee Cobbins. Burgess also appeared with Andy Mineo on Trip Lee's album The Good Life. In June 2012, he released a third single, "Go Off," featuring Tedashii and Andy Mineo. Burgess's debut album, Weight & Glory, was released a month later.
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. 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. Burgess also appeared in Family Force 5's music video for the song "BZRK," released on May 23, 2014, as a featured artist.
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. The first single from the album, "Sideways," featuring Lecrae, was released on February 23, 2015. The second single, "Crowns & Thorns (Oceans)," was released on March 10, 2015.
On October 20, 2017, KB released his third studio album, Today We Rebel. The first single from the album, "Tempo," was released a year prior to the album's release. The second single, "Monster," featuring Aha Gazelle, was released on September 15, 2017.

### 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.
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.
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.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Year | Title | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions | Chart positions |
| Year | Title | US | US Gospel | US Christ. | US Indie | US Rap |
| 2012 | Weight & Glory Released: July 17, 2012 Label: Reach | 34 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 4 |
| 2015 | Tomorrow We Live Released: April 21, 2015 Label: Reach | 18 | — | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 2017 | Today We Rebel Released: October 20, 2017 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 Label: Provident Label Group | — | — | 4 | — | — |
| "—" 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 |||||||||

### Collaboration albums

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

#### As featured artist

| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Chart Positions | Album |
| | | Hot Christian Songs | | |
| 2011 | "116" (PRo featuring KB) | | | non-album single |
| 2013 | "Passing" (Json featuring Serge and KB) | | | Braille |
| 2013 | "All In" (Flame featuring KB) | | | Royal Flush |
| 2014 | "BZRK" (Family Force 5 featuring KB) | 34 | | Time Stand Still |
| 2015 | "Northern Sky" (Capital Kings feat. KB) | | | II |
| 2017 | "O God Forgive Us" (For King & Country featuring KB) | 14 | | Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong. |
| 2021 | "Can't Tell It All (Remix)" (Hulvey feat. KB & Lecrae ) | | | Coma| |
| | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |

### Other charted songs

| Year | Title | Chart positions | Chart positions | Certifications | Album |
| Year | Title | US Christ. | US Gospel | Certifications | Album |
| 2012 | "Church Clap" (featuring Lecrae) | — | — | RIAA: Gold | 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 |
| 2014 | "Undefeated" (featuring Derek Minor) | 39 | 21 | | 100 |
| 2014 | "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 |
| 2017 | "Not Today Satan" (featuring Andy Mineo) | 32 | — | | Today We Rebel |
| "—" 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" | 2011 | Andy Mineo | Formerly Known |
| "You Know What it Is" | 2011 | Tedashii, PK | Blacklight |
| "One Sixteen" | 2012 | Trip Lee, Andy Mineo | The Good Life |
| "Fuego" | 2012 | Lecrae, Suzy Rock | Gravity (iTunes edition) |
| "The Saints Remix" | 2012 | 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" | 2014 | Tenth Avenue North, Derek Minor | Cathedrals |
| "I Wouldn't Know" | 2016 | Lecrae | Church Clothes 3 |
| "Prove It" | 2016 | Crowder | American Prodigal |
| "Back Soon" | 2019 | 1K Phew, Parris Chariz | What's Understood |
| "Blessed" | 2019 | JStu, Hyper Fenton | Summer's Back |

### Music videos
#### As lead artist

| Title | Year | Director | Views |
| "Zone Out" (featuring Chris Lee Cobbins) | 2012 | — | 3.1M |
| "HCB Freestyle" | 2013 | Will Thomas | 576K |
| "Heart Song" (featuring Jasmine Leshea) | 2013 | — | 610K |
| "100" (featuring Andy Mineo) | 2014 | Squint | 5.9M |
| "Kamikaze" (featuring Prisca) | 2014 | — | 1.3M |
| "Sideways" (featuring Lecrae) | 2015 | Kyle Dettman | 8.7M |
| "Drowning" | 2016 | Sam Brave | 2M |
| "Tempo" | 2016 | — | 2.6M |
| "DNOU" | 2017 | Sam Brave | 1.7M |
| "Not Today Satan" (featuring Andy Mineo) | 2018 | Nathan Corrona | 3.2M |
| "No Chains" | 2018 | — | 16M |
| "Long Live The Champions" (featuring Yariel, GabrielRodriguezEMC) | 2018 | Juan Garcia | 9.1M |
| "Die Rich" (featuring Ray Emmanuel) | 2018 | — | 1.8M |
| "Hold Me Back" | 2019 | — | 5.2M |
| "10k" | 2020 | Juan Garcia | 10M |
| "Lil Boy" | 2020 | — | 1.3M |
| "Dark Skin" | 2021 | — | 198K |
| "Libre" (featuring Tommy Royale) | 2021 | — | 1.8M |
| "Masterpiece" | 2021 | — | 1M |
| "This Is Life" | 2021 | — | 1.1M |
| "Worship In The Moshpit" | 2021 | — | 1.4M |
| "So Tired" | 2021 | — | 554K |
| "King Jesus" (featuring nobigdyl) | 2022 | — | 3.7M |
| "Graves" (featuring Brandon Lake) | 2022 | Joan Garcia | 1.9M |
| "Graves - Acoustic" (featuring Brandon Lake) | 2022 | — | 523K |
| "EZ" | 2023 | — | 1M |
| "Glory 2 Glory" | 2023 | — | 1.9M |
| "Danza" (featuring Nico Eme, Cardec Drums) | 2023 | — | 2.2M |
| "Miracles" (featuring Lecrae) | 2023 | — | 3.4M |
| "It Ain't Safe" | 2024 | — | 328K |
| "Friends" (featuring Ty Brasel) | 2024 | — | 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" (Family Force 5 featuring KB) | 2014 | Ryan Hamblin |