Braille Reflects on Being Kept Safe
Talking with the rap legend about his "best of" compilation album
Hip-hop artist Braille hardly needs an introduction. The emcee’s long career as both a solo artist and a member of groups like Lightheaded and Beautiful Eulogy speaks for itself.
We previously reported that Braille is working on his first solo album in more than a decade. In the meantime, though, he’s releasing a “best of” collection called Kept Safe in early 2025.
This article originally appeared in Midnight Donuts #6 from January 2025. Want to read the most recent edition of Midnight Donuts? You can do so here!
Midnight Donuts: What initially made you want to do a “best of” collection? Do you see it as sort of a “reintroduction” to your solo music, in advance of the solo album you’re working on?
Braille: As a teenager, I collected records for sampling. Over the last year, I began building a small record collection of albums I could enjoy listening to with my family. While building my collection, I was reminded of the benefit of “Best of” collections. For artists with a deep catalog, it would be expensive to get all their albums on vinyl.
Take, for example, Al Green. He’s made many records! His “best of” collection is not only a great introduction to his music but also an enjoyable curated listening experience. Until I released the 20th-anniversary edition of Shades of Grey on vinyl, none of my solo albums were ever printed on wax. Printing the rest felt daunting and overkill, so I decided the “best of” would be a good next step. It’s a curated collection that distills my sound and some key themes I’ve explored through the years.
It may be a re-introduction to some listeners, but it also was a re-introduction for myself. I hadn’t revisited my old music in a long time—honestly, I left it behind and moved on, which sometimes is part of maturing as a person and artist. But now, being further removed, I can look back and see God’s hand on my life.
Midnight Donuts: Was selecting songs for this compilation pretty difficult to narrow down, or pretty intuitive?
Braille: It was both. I took time to listen to each album and narrowed it down to my top 3 songs per album. Then, I would put them on playlists and test out various orders. I found that the most popular songs on each album were also the best ones. [Laughs] I guess you could say I agree with the organic consensus of my monthly listeners.
Midnight Donuts: Tell me about the name: Kept Safe.
Braille: I have an unreleased song with the same name. Ironically, it’s not included in the collection, but in the song, I say, “I’ve been broken, I’ve been beaten, I’ve been kept safe.”
As I look back over 20 years of my music—which gives snapshots from 20 years of my life—the best summary I could come up with is “Kept Safe.” So much has gone sideways, and so much didn’t play out according to my expectations. I’ve learned that I truly am a jar of clay, weaker than I imagined, unable to protect myself from the many dangers, toils, and snares of life in this world. But amazingly, I’ve come out on the other side with my faith still intact. God has shown that the power belongs to Him and not to me. I’m a fragile vessel, kept safe by the treasure God has placed inside me, the knowledge of His glory in the face of Jesus Christ.
Midnight Donuts: What’s the story behind the album art?
Braille: While we could have used the imagery of a jar of clay with a treasure inside, I don’t think it would have captured the idea of “dangers, toils, and snares” I expressed above. I had a vague idea of a storm-tossed sailboat that hadn’t sunk as another way of conveying the concept. I reached out to my friend Esteban Shedd from Alert312, and he caught the vision.
The cover is a multi-media painting and collage that he made—I love how it turned out. You have this small sailboat with a patch in the sail (it’s been torn), surrounded by crashing waves, yet held up by a rock. It’s beautiful to look at, especially printed on the vinyl jackets, and matches the concept perfectly.
Midnight Donuts: What made you want to put Kept Safe (and Shades of Grey) on vinyl?
Braille: While building my record collection, I realized very few Christian hip-hop albums made it on wax. As I would dig through bins, I rarely ever stumbled upon Christian music on wax (with the exception of a few gospel records). The prospect of seeing it through felt inspiring, and I wanted my children to observe the process. They were so young (or not yet born) during my solo career—same with the Humble Beast era—so I wanted to share with them one more era of releasing music. They’ve been helping me package orders and get a glimpse of what it’s like to create something and run a small business from home.
Midnight Donuts: Where can readers get the album?
Braille: Aside from being available on most digital and streaming platforms, limited edition physical copies on Vinyl/CD can be purchased from me directly at GospelBanquet.com.
Check out a behind-the-scenes video of how Esteban Shedd created the cover art below!
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