American rapper
Musical artist
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 to Reach Records in 2010. The label has released the Who Is KB? mixtape in 2011, Weight & Glory, on July 17, 2012, the 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 116 Clique.
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] While he excelled in school and was offered a path to college through a program at St. Petersburg Collegiate High School, he struggled with extreme depression. He experimented with various drugs to obtain some relief.[2] This negatively affected his performance at school, and further led him in a downward spiral, in which he even contemplated 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 with 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]
Signing with Reach Records
Burgess signed with Reach Records in 2010 and appeared that year on the album Rehab by Lecrae.[6] His mixtape Who is KB? followed a year later, as did appearances with PRo and Tedashii.[6][7][8][9] Who is KB? obtained 30,000 downloads by the following year.[6] His first single, "Hello", featured Suzy Rock and was released in October 2011.[10] In January 2012, he released a second single, "Zone Out", featuring Chris Lee Cobbins.[11] Burgess then made an appearance with Andy Mineo on the Trip Lee 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 announced a four-part project entitled 1st & 16th. This project would consist of Burgess releasing a new song every first and sixteenth 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 released on March 4, 2014.[16] Burgess appeared in Family Force 5's music video for the song "BZRK", released on May 23, 2014, on which Burgess is a featured artist.[17]
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 was scheduled to be released on April 21, 2015.[18] The first single off 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 off the album, "Tempo", was released a year before the album's release date.[22] The second single off the album, "Monster" featuring Aha Gazelle, was released on September 15, 2017.[23]
Signing with Essential Sound
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"—for his fourth studio album His Glory Alone. KB released the album on September 25, 2020.[25]
Personal life
Burgess is currently married to his wife Michelle, with three children.[26][27][28]
