KB has never been particularly interested in making Christianity easier to swallow. But with his new album, This Cannot Be Sold, he’s taking aim at something he believes has become increasingly common: a version of faith that’s packaged, polished and profitable.
For the rapper and author, the problem isn’t that artists, influencers or public figures talk about Jesus. It’s when Jesus becomes a marketing strategy rather than the center of the message. He believes the Church is living through a strange cultural moment where faith can actually become an advantage—a way to build a platform, sell a product or gain credibility. And that’s exactly what prompted him to make this record.
“There was a moment where it felt like the Gospel was so for sale that it was to your advantage to package what you are doing as either adjacent to Christianity or directly from the heart of Jesus,” KB told RELEVANT. “That’s a strange thing in history. Historically, Jesus has been a disruptor. He doesn’t fit well with our marketing campaigns.
“I felt this strong conviction when I was writing this record that if we are not people that want Jesus for Jesus, then we are people who don’t actually know Him. God is calling people first to Himself. He’s not calling people into a party or a brand or a set of rules. There comes a time where some tables need to be flipped.”
That conviction became the heartbeat of This Cannot Be Sold. While the album touches on everything from temptation and anxiety to politics and discipleship, it keeps circling back to one idea: Christians have to resist the temptation to use Jesus instead of following Him.
KB points to philosopher Dallas Willard’s phrase “vampire Christianity” to describe the phenomenon.
“It wants Jesus for His blood, but it does not want Him for His life,” he said.
Still, he doesn’t want listeners to mistake the album for an attack on Christian artists or ministries. In fact, he says his experience in Christian music has been overwhelmingly positive. Most of the people he’s toured with and worked alongside genuinely love Jesus. The danger, he believes, isn’t usually outright deception. It’s something quieter.
As someone whose career depends on writing songs about faith, KB knows firsthand how easy it is to confuse spiritual maturity with spiritual performance.
“I’ve had to grow because I don’t want to primarily be the person that is good at pointing out other people’s flaws,” he said. “I don’t think that’s good for my soul. But I heard this story about a pastor who privately admitted he didn’t believe in God anymore after leading a church for years. When they asked him how he kept doing it, he said, ‘I just got good at doing God.’
“I think that is a danger that faces those who get paid to speak God good. There’s an assumption that I am as spiritual as my songs make it seem. If something happened publicly where people realized I wasn’t that guy, they wouldn’t pay me anymore. There’s a connection between my livelihood and my spiritual performance.”
That same tension, he says, extends far beyond Christian music.
Whether it’s politics, social media or everyday life, KB believes Christians are constantly being pulled toward identities that compete with their allegiance to Christ. He doesn’t argue that believers should withdraw from culture. In fact, he describes himself as a conservative, a patriot and someone who believes deeply in participating in public life. But every one of those identities has to remain secondary.
“What we’ve learned from the algorithm is what sells better than sex is rage,” he said. “If we can all be angry about the same thing and share a common enemy, we almost unify around that.
“But if ever it comes a time where something in your marriage, your parenting, your nation, your political party or your racial identity conflicts with what Jesus says is most important, they lose. He wins. We belong to Him before we belong to anyone else.”
That conviction shapes how he approaches everything from immigration to the pro-life movement to political engagement. Christians may disagree on policy, he says, but they can’t abandon the principles that define the kingdom of God. If following Jesus doesn’t occasionally put believers at odds with their own side, something has gone wrong.
For all its prophetic edge, though, This Cannot Be Sold isn’t meant to leave listeners angry. It’s meant to leave them grounded.
KB says beneath the endless outrage, hot takes and algorithm-driven conflict, he senses something deeper: people are exhausted. They’re anxious. They’re desperate for something that isn’t constantly shifting beneath their feet.
“I hope people leave this album with a sense of peace,” he said. “Everything feels like it’s on fire right now. People are deeply unsettled. They’re deeply uncertain about tomorrow. I think a lot of Christian leaders are simply adding their voices to echoes that are already out there.
“The peace of Christ flows from a kingdom that cannot be shaken, from an agenda that cannot be overturned. I hope people can get more squarely situated in that kingdom where their uncertainty, fear and anxiety are ministered to.”
That’s ultimately what This Cannot Be Sold is arguing for. Not a better Christian brand. Not a more effective marketing strategy. Just a faith that refuses to put anything—not influence, not politics, not algorithms, not even success—ahead of Jesus Himself.
See more of our conversation with KB on episode 1309 of The RELEVANT Podcast:
