LABEL:  REACH RECORDS
RELEASE DATE:  JULY 17, 2012

Two years!  That’s about how long fans have had to wait for KB’s debut album on Reach Records.  Since the announcement of his signing, back in September of 2010, Reach and KB have served up some small appetizers to hold fans over till now.   During this two year span, KB has delivered on great guests spots for his Reach label mates like Pro’s “Full Court Mess,” Tedashii’s “You Know What it is” and even his own mixtape, Who is KB?  These tracks and many others only raised fan anticipation and expectations.    The wait for a full length project was certainly long, but with Weight & Glory KB delivers a product that is well worth the wait.

Featuring appearances by Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Suzy Rock, PK and many more, Weight & Glory is for the most part an up-tempo masterpiece with great beats, lyricism and word play.  KB has a tremendous presence on the mic sounding like a seasoned veteran throughout.  The guest appearances on the album were great and I truly felt everyone brought their A game yet I never felt they overshadowed KB and his talent.  Weight and Glory offers enough variety with true hip-hop, rock, pop and ballads that the album feels complete and the listener will be engaged throughout.

“Hello” and “Zone Out” are the album’s lead singles which were released early in late 2011 and early 2012, respectively.  Easily one of my favorite tracks in Christian hip-hop this year, “Zone Out” is an excellent track that gets the project off to a nice start.  “Hello” is a nice ballad that features Suzy Rock and some excellent instrumentation.

“Anomaly” is another of my favorites that sees KB addressing many of inconsistencies in our common thinking.  I love the word play on this song. “I come from the hood too, used to smoke that good too, now I’m testimony homey of what the Lord could do,” KB rhymes.  Later in the song he delivers one of my favorite lines:  “They don’t sense this urgency.  Think you got time?  You’re a flat tire from eternity!”

“Don’t Mean That Much,” one of my favorites on the album, is a rock infused track that features Sho Baraka.  KB describes many of the pleasures that people enjoy and simply states “they don’t mean that much to me.”  The song’s hook sums up the message of the track:   “Money, fame coming for your heart, sex, drugs, secret of the dark, everything the world wants, it don’t mean much, it don’t mean much to me.”    Sho Baraka adds a nice verse to an already banging track.

“Open Letter” features Trip Lee, Swoope and Jai and is one of the most unique songs I’ve heard in quite some time.  The song showcases Trip Lee, Swoope and KB reading fan mail as they address topics such as lust, pre-marital sex and remaining pure before marriage,  real issues that many of their fans deal with.    I love the truth in this song and I’m sure many Christians will like this song simply because they at some point have shared some of these struggles.  I definitely would love to see a video for this song!

These are just a few of the standouts on the album.   Other notable tracks include “Angels”(love the hook on this song), “Mr. Pretender” and “Here We Go.”  Quite simply, the more I listen to the album, the more I change my mind about which tracks are my favorites.

Hip-Hop in general is known for its historic debuts.  It’s my opinion that many will look back on Weight & Glory and see it as a classic in terms of Christian Hip Hop.  For many it may not be quite what they expected considering it has less in your face theology than most Reach debuts, but KB has an undeniable talent and this project is sure to be talked about for months to come.  I’m confident it’s a project you will love even if it’s different from what you expected going in.

My recommendation:  Grab your headphones, press play and sit back and enjoy!  You won’t need the skip button!