Pettidee and KnowdaVerbs have a long history in Christian Rap and now they’ve come together to form the group Village KNG. An idea that sparked over a year ago is now starting to come to light.
Their first release will be called We Are Village KNG (side A), and includes tracks such as “Afro Frontier,” “Forward Motion,” “Harriet Tubman,” and “King.” Tone Jonez is the producer bringing the sound to life. We Are Village KNG (side A) will be released in early 2023, followed by a four-song Side B.
We shot them over some interview questions to get an idea of what’s going on!
Where did you guys pull the name Village KNG from?
KnowdaVerbs: There are really two layers to the name. At the top level, it is recognizing the King of glory. Christ on a mission, humbling himself, stepping into the flesh. Making his debut in a small village called Bethlehem, lived among humanity, died for the sins of all, and was resurrected. The certified King of Kings.
Secondly, as men, as husbands and fathers who follow that crown, the name serves as a reminder to continue to manage those responsibilities to the best of our ability. Maintaining our own villages as we trust God for the wisdom and strength to do it.
Pettidee: Everything my Brother said and as well as Kings are also servants to the kingdom or village. As there is no I in this team, in this Village there is no I in KNG
As two longtime CHH artists who have been quiet with music the last few years, was it daunting to create music in this climate?
KnowdaVerbs: I would say it absolutely was daunting. For myself, I’ve been on an extended hiatus of sorts for about 15 years. My last full record, entitled The GroundWork Theory, was released in 2007 and I moved on to other things in life shortly after. Now, I’m a fan of music and because of that, I would always keep my ears tuned to what was coming out.
Stepping back in, just about everything in how music releases has changed. Some concepts have stayed the same but how they’re now executed is different with social media dictating how everything is done now. Petti has been the most consistent one of the two of us in regard to releasing music over the years and was able to bring more strategy to the table when we got to the point of putting the music out to the public.
Pettidee: It was actually the opposite for me. I’m always recording, whether it’s for tv and film, or features. I have new music that I was not motivated to release because of the climate in music being too gimmick driven. I was losing the motivation until Verbs and I got together just to fellowship and it developed into this. That is real and natural to me. It gave me the spark again.
Was there anything new that you wanted to try in these songs that was different from what you’re used to?
KnowdaVerbs: We wanted to make sure the sonic formula would be right. We didn’t want to just rest on the work of the past and duplicate it but lean into the opportunity of creating something new that sounded familiar as well. I think we understood that there’s a whole new wave of modern music that we haven’t been accustomed to creating, but we also wanted to explore our voices and writing styles in the context of the new wave to see what we could come up with and not feel as if we attempting to overdo it.
Hip Hop music has been around long enough to where there is so much inspiration to pull from the timeline and create a new but familiar moment.
Pettidee: We bring something out of each other that wasn’t there as solo artists. Even the beats are different for both of us. They aren’t the traditional Verbs or Pettidee sound. It forced us to create something new that would not have happened otherwise.
What are the future plans for Village KNG and yourselves as solo artists?
KnowdaVerbs: As this EP is being fully released over the next few weeks, we are prepping to go back in for round two of the next EP which will be Side B. For now, the effort is being put into solidifying Village KNG’s momentum through the music, merch, shows, and all of that.
Pettidee: At this point in my career I’ve done a lot, all except what my brother and I are doing. This is bigger than music to me right now, it’s doing life and music with another man of God that carries the cross of Christ
Anything else to add?
Village KNG is not a concept or collab. We are brothers who take declaring that Christ is KING to the heart of everything we do. CHH will never die! You can not kill an art form built on the faith that constantly professes its savior JESUS has already defeated death and is alive forever!
