Weight & Glory is the debut album of Christian hip hop artist KB, released on July 17, 2012. It is a follow up to his 2011 mixtape Who is KB?, and was highly anticipated since KB's signing to Reach Records in 2010.[1][2] It features appearances by label-mates Lecrae, Tedashii, Trip Lee, and Andy Mineo, as well as Swoope, J Paul, Chris Lee Cobbins, and Suzy Rock, among others.[3][4] Producers include Street Symphony, Dirty Rice, Cheesebeats, and Black Knight.[3][4] The album debuted at No. 34 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 9,700 copies.[5] Critical reception was highly positive.
The album was received very well by critics. Christianity Today rated the album four out of five, stating that "Christian hip-hop doesn't get more fist-pumpingly urgent and soulful as it does when Kevin Burgess, aka KB, is on the mic."[7]The Christian Manifesto rated the album a full five stars and nominated it for the website's 2012 Lime Awards.[2] DaSouth gave the album a four-point-five out of five, along with New Release Tuesday, while Indie Vision Music gave it four out of five.[1][8][11] Jesus Freak Hideout was more divided, with one reviewer giving the album a four out of five and the other rating it three-point-five out of five.[9][10] Hollywood Jesus and Jam the Hype! were both favorable to the album.[13][14]Rapzilla rated the album four out of five, stating "Weight & Glory is an impressive debut album. Even though there are a couple songs I didn’t particularly vibe with, the overall presentation is great. Many start their careers with lackluster debuts, but KB hit this out of the park."[12]
iTunes chart position
Upon its release, Weight & Glory was reported by Rapzilla to have reached #2 on the iTunes Hip-Hop/Rap chart, and #11 overall within two hours.[15] Rapzilla urged readers to push the album into the top ten spot on the overall iTunes chart, and the album subsequently reached #7.[15] Jam the Hype! Radio subsequently urged readers to push it to the #1 spot.[16]