Crooning holy messages through music

By Jeckonia Otieno

To many of his admirers, he is the stuff America’s superstars are made of. KB is young, trendy and flying high, yet he says his only mission is to evangelise.

KB, whose real name is Kevin Burgess, visited Kenya with his fellow musicians, Trip Lee, Lecrae, Tedashi and Andi Mineo who make up 116 Clique, and performed at last weekend’s Unashamed gospel concert at Mavuno Church in Nairobi. The group is touring Africa. Kenya is one of their stops, courtesy of the Standard Group and XII Agency, among other sponsors.

KB, 23, says this group of fine singers came together because of the need to spread the word of God.

He says, "We believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ because we see the gift of salvation through his being nailed to the cross."

At his age, many young people would still be figuring out what career they want to take up, but KB knew what he wanted to be when he was still young. And he is already married and trusts he would have children when the time is right. He has been married for more than a year now.

The young man, who would pass for any other person in the streets, says this world is so secularised he made up his mind to swim against the tide.

He knows there are hard times ahead in his choice of career as "where there is Christianity there must be suffering" but he is ready for it, including rejection.

Before they face rejection, he says, the group is working overtime to reverse the trend and make their message acceptable to as many people as it can reach. Some of KB’s songs are Don’t Waste Your Life, Lighter Fluid, I Can’t Play the Background and Go. All are done in the stagger style – of dancers moving as if they are about to fall.

Not superstars

And the group has made inroads, achieving one success after another. Despite their music success, KB, in his humble way, says the group members are not superstars. He says if they start thinking of themselves that highly, then they would begin their downfall.

KB has interesting insights on dressing, an issue that has brought heated debates in the Church.

He says it is wrong to judge people by their way of dressing. He cites the case of Jesus who was born in the Jewish culture, pointing out that he had to live the Hebrew way in keeping with the customs of his origin and time.

KB dresses casually just like the other group members. He has a baseball cap, a pair of jeans shorts, and easily flashes the two-finger sign of victory and confidence.

KB says, "I carry this dressing style wherever I go, in church, on the stage, and even when praying."

His fellow group members are equally flashy. Andi Mineo wears earings; Tedashii never leaves behind his chain or pendant, and Trip’s style is putting on his cap backwards.

Don’t blame culture

Character, not dressing, makes a person and culture is not the problem; sin is, says KB.

"Should all of us dress as Jews because Jesus did so? Heaven has no culture, what matters is the content of one’s heart," he says.

KB wonders why young people are ashamed of the word of God. They should instead be proud of redemption rather than seek pleasures that do not add value to their lives at all.

KB’s style of music would make any conservative Christian suffer a heart attack.

The fast flow and agility of movement is not characteristic of traditional people who believe that music for the almighty is based on humble beats marked by a regular rhythm, devoid of fast movement.

Going by their style of music, it is clear that these young men have revolutionised the holy hits to keep in sync with the young people who, KB says, need to be spoken to in a language they understand.

Worthy to note is that most of the group members, all in their early 20s, are married and they say they like it.

Being married is good for their career; it helps them avoid temptations that come with being youthful, successful and unattached, they argue.