Kevin Burgess was born in St. Petersburg, FL and raised in Southern Illinois, the artist known as KB in his highly anticipated freshman release with Reach Records, Weight & Glory, did not disappoint. This strong release from the leader of HGA (His Glory Alone) brings a very diverse sound, hard hitting lyrics and knocking melodic beats.

The album starts off with a very nice melodic almost west coast rap style piano tune with KB attacking the track with a powerful lyrical display. This song "Weight Music" is the intro and it sets the stage for the rest of KB’s offering. This song speaks of the awesomeness of God’s Glory and the weightiness of the Savior. KB is telling from jump that he’s in Awe of the Almighty and it comes through on this first track. There is an awesome choir feel lead by Jenny Norlin from Sweden on the hook. I mean the singing is on point and gives it a very worshipful feel.

Moving to the next track "Zone Out", featuring Chris Lee Cobbins, man I tell you what, this joint is pretty much the hardest on the cd a definite banger with a sweet hook from Chris. The track itself is straight neck breaking. KB especially in the second verse shows his skill as a great MC with analogies and clever word play this song will be on repeat in your iPod. One more observation in the hook KB uses a sample of Thi’sl which I’ve heard many songs from Reach with samples of Thi’sl in the hook and you can’t lose with that point blank. I have to stop right here and point out that the quality of this project is top notch. The sound engineering, the clarity and the balance between track and artist are level 1. Reach has really set up the CHH genre for success with its attention to those details in this one.

There are some really good nutha level songs also in this project, let’s take a look at a few. There is a song called “Don’t Mean Much” ft. Sho Baraka that has a rock feel to it that’s hard hitting. The message that the things of the world don’t mean much to me is very potent and clear. Another song called “Mr. Pretender” speaks of the allure of Sin and the fight against it. KB in this one displays the struggle in a very poetic way, very clear to understand. By far the strongest song on the project is “Open Letter” ft. Swoope, Andy Mineo and Trip Lee. This song is simply masterful. From the way it’s written to the track it’s laid over you empathize with the different letters addressed to KB as he invites Swoope to read one of the letters and Trip Lee to pray for the writers of the letters.  Another can’t lose is having Andy Mineo on the hook. This song deals with very controversial issues in a Christian’s life from struggles with sexual orientation and being engaged but yet struggling with wanting to having sex with your future spouse. This song is on a classic level with its lyrics, delivery and sound. Next to this one the next best songs would have to be “Heart Song” featuring Jasmine Le’Shea. This song right here brought tears to my eyes for real. It really pulls on the heart strings “no pun intended” and cements the truth that God is enough and if all else fails and when life seems like it’s not fair our love for God has to be intact and carry us through. A cool line in this song is “Why do the good die, that only happened once” this really sums up this Awesome song!

Of course you have your features with artist like Lecrae and Flame that are solid not really stand out songs.  The one with Lecrae kind of reminded me of the style of church I grew up in as a kid and brought back some funny memories. All in all each song is strong in different ways, I can’t personally find any real fault with KB’s offering it’s very, very strong from all angles. The one thing I would say is that I found that KB on some of the tracks sounded really like Lecrae in his delivery. To some that might not be a bad thing but I just think it’s something KB should be careful of not to be a clone of Lecrae. You decide what you think about that.

The album has 14 tracks, very strong production, lyrics and should be in everyone’s playlist. This project is definitely a plus for the CHH genre. KB conveys the weight of the glory of God accurately. Listening to this CD many times through I would definitely say KB accomplished what he set out to do in this one. Also for those who care my wife loves it too, which is big.

Categorical Ratings Breakdown:
Originality/creativity 4.5/5
Lyrics/Delivery 4.5/5
Beat Selecton/Production 4.5/5
Concepts/Arrangements 4

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