When KB’s newest album "Bahamian Culture" is released next week, listeners can not only expect to hear a number of old favourites, but a surprising new side of the popular musician whose hilarious commentary on life in The Bahamas has entertained audiences for years.
The album, which contains a total of 10 tracks, includes a re-mix of his well known "That’s Bahamian Culture" single, released more than three years ago.
"The re-mix is more funky, more beefed up," KB (Kirkland Bodie) told Arts and Entertainment in an interview. "People will hear a different twist. It’s funkier and reflects more the music of our time."
But that’s not the only thing different about KB’s latest release.
With a reggae remake of Daniel Bedingfield’s ballad "If You’re Not The One," KB shows a side that few members of his local audience have seen.
"I just wanted to come up with something different that would capture my audience who normally wouldn’t hear me doing something like that," says KB.
"Right now I’m exploring more of me and I’ll be moving on in a lot of ways. I write all types of music. People may think I only do goombay, rake ‘n’ scrape or Junkanoo, but I’ve always done rock, alternative and punk. The only thing I haven’t done is classical."
In this effort, his "fifth or sixth" album, KB brings back hits like "She Want A Thug" and "Civil Servant."
Putting "Bahamian Culture" together with producers Dylan McKenzie and Colin McDonald was a five-month effort for the musician who describes the album as a project that shows Bahamian culture, and a range of his songs over the years.
"I look at an album like a piece of art. Each piece has to fit. One time ago I just used to throw songs together [on an album] but it’s not about that anymore. It has to make sense, you have to see something and that’s how I approach it now," says KB.
So it’s fitting that this new album is entitled "Bahamian Culture," a concept that he is determined to push in his work.
"I’m just trying to push the Bahamian culture. I want that to be my focus but yet show that we are diverse and not so narrow in our scope," he says, adding that more resources ought to be poured into the development of local musicians.
"We need to hold on to what is ours."
KB swears that he would "die for Bahamian music and culture" but considers himself a musician first.
He started out as the lead vocalist/front man for the Ego Tripp Band, which at the time was a rock/alternative band, mixing Rock & Roll and R & B with Bahamian rhythms.
Their first recording was a song entitled "Party," which won an award and a single song recording deal, and launched KB’s career in Freeport, Grand Bahama.
The band, which stayed together for about five years, also scored it big with "Turn Her Loose," written by KB.
He has written and recorded one of the largest selling albums in the Bahamas, and has opened up for such international acts as, Arrested Development, Big Daddy Kane, Karyn White, Christopher Williams, Michel’le, Rob Base, Gregory Issacs, 2DExtreme, Buju Banton, Troop, Arrow, Shaggy, Barrington Levy, Shinehead, Third World and many others.
KB says that he could have gone abroad to pursue his music career but thought it was more important to develop "our own culture."
He recalls that at the age of 17-18, just after high school when he first told his mother that he wanted to make music his career, she "looked at me and asked, are you insane?"
But today, when someone approaches her and asks about her son, she is proud, says KB.
For now, KB says that he’s "keeping his eye on the prize," and expects to start shooting a music video in the very near future.
