KB Talks New Album ‘Today We Rebel’

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“KB is a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, a husband of Michelle and Father of Keanu and Kevin and a voice in hip-hop culture for the gospel.”

In the last two years, Reach Records artist KB says that he has become more familiar with and comfortable in his calling. “I feel like I have a greater vision of the needs in the world and I feel more inspired and I feel a certain sense of grit to go out and meet those problems with [a] gospel vision and [a] gospel voice.”

In spring 2015, KB released his most previous album, Tomorrow We Live. It was premised on believing in the vision of the future in which God will make all things new. “It didn’t really deal too much with ‘What do we do before tomorrow, which is today?’”

Today We Rebel is the answer to those questions. KB says his new album is a portrait of the wrestles that people deal with as they wait for that tomorrow to come.

“One of the ways I would sum up that wrestle is for those who are in Jesus, He has made you free. That freedom will be met with opposition and it is our duty to rebel against it.”

Concerning the art direction of the imagery surrounding the project, KB told designer Alex Medina that the songs felt multilayered and he wanted an album cover to match that. “I wanted it to feel epic. I wanted [the album art] to have a presence to it and I wanted [it] to be symbolic.”

KB gave Medina references of pieces he liked from different mediums of art. To produce the final product, Medina was inspired by Egyptian and Coptic Christian art, from which he sought to make a composition that would be a leader in cover design.

“The album cover serves as a map filled with all of these symbols that help you walk through the album.”

The majority of Today We Rebel was recorded in KB’s home studio. “This time around my team really pushed me to dig as deep as I can in the reservoirs of my creative ability. Natalie [Lauren] and Native Creative is a part of my creative team, not only with the sound of the album but also the marketing as well.”

The first single from the new album, excluding 2016’s “Tempo,” was “Monster,” featuring fellow Reach Records artist Aha Gazelle. KB said that before he found his identity in Christ, he was looking for it in the affirmation of other people.

“One of the biggest things for this man [myself] is that my identity is wrapped in the Lord Jesus and what He has done for me so that I’m free to be as radical for Jesus as I want to be. I’m free to be as ethnic as I want to be and I’m free to be as bold as He’s calling me to be…”

KB says that if death cannot affect the freedom that Jesus has given him, then the approval of others has no chance at it.

“You are surrounded by a hostile enemy that wants to own you, that wants you to serve his purposes. It’s not only outside of you its inside of you that we have sin in our hearts that wants to take control and take the lead. The bible says just do not let those things own you, ‘Owe no one but your love,’ [and] ‘Be bound exclusively to the Lord.’”

With his song “DNOU,” short for Don’t Nobody Own Us, KB wants listeners to make a big deal out of the fact that nobody owns them or controls their purpose of following Christ. “It is a big deal.”

“PrimeTime” is a carpe-diem (Latin for “seize the day”) themed song, according to KB. He says that there is not a single moment in our lives that does not matter. KB believes that it is primetime, the time to be great, at all times. “It’s the idea that failure is not final and we can rise in anything.” Ty Brasel was featured on the song; they were both featured on Derek Minor’s “Take Off” and now he is going on KB and Trip Lee’s fall tour, The Hometeam Tour.

In KB’s song “Get Through,” featuring Lecrae, he says that through our trials there are things that God is trying to get out of us to make us more faithful. “There’s nothing wrong with trying to escape it but we don’t want to miss what the voice of God may be saying in the struggle.”

“I hope the listener can walk away with a sense of purpose in their pain. I think we’re always trying to get away from the difficulty of situations. We want to get out of it, but if we’re careful, we can hear the voice of God teaching us in the storm.”

Track six on Today We Rebel is called “Art of Drifting” and is about walking away from God; it was inspired by a dream KB had, saying “I don’t want to go into detail about it but I woke up very emotional. I felt like I needed to watch my life and my doctrine very closely.” Despite the danger of removing God from your life, the album does not leave you hanging as “Art of Hope” comes next, “talking about the process of returning to your first love [God].”

Andy Mineo is featured on the third single of the album, “Not Today Satan.” The song is about saying no to the deceit of Satan and “it’s a common black church phrase that I think we can miss has lots of depth and meaning to it. I wanted to make a song celebrating Christ’s victory over the enemy.”

“Bring You War” features for KING & COUNTRY and “is a song that I want people to be blown away by the fact that God loves to work with the underdogs, the outnumbered, the outsider. Getting for KING & COUNTRY on it was very organic; those are just friends of mine. I think we were on tour together when we worked on it.”

“I just want people to think about Romans 12:2, ‘Do not be conformed to the ways of this world and age.’ Remember that you are a citizen of the kingdom of God, which exists over every other nation, allegiance, [and] affiliation. You should do that because that is where you find God’s greatest glory and your greatest joy.”

This Fall, KB and Trip Lee are embarking on the Hometeam Tour. “We’re excited to be performing new music.” KB will be sharing songs from Today We Rebel, and Trip Lee will also be performing new songs, one of which he shared online this week, “Forever.”

KB said that if you have never been to one of his concerts, “stretch before you come.”

You can follow KB on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

You can pre-order Today We Rebel on iTunes, Amazon, or Google Play.

You can get tickets to the Hometeam Tour here.

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