Ka is the only artist whose music our staff collectively refused to pirate. Such is the respect for a O.G. who went from Natural Elements to the firehouse, to having the best late career renaissance this side of Juicy J. He is either the last of the Mohican’s or the first of something new. Listening to Doris last week brought up obvious comparisons to The Night’s Gambit. Both are well-written monotone rap records, but one reflects the work of someone who painstakingly labored to master his craft, versus someone born with absurd lyrical gifts but still trying to figure out how to translate them to vivid songs.
You already know the backstory if you read Alex Steady Bloggin’s interview from way back when. The music isn’t hit you over the head obvious, it’s more the type to creep up on you while you’re sleeping. Old fashioned newsprint-colored New York rap with the knife twisting. The syllables stab. You feel your pulse rise, the enemies footsteps clicking. You’re intuitively aware not to stick your neck out from the next corner. There’s a war going on outside, no man is safe from…. The almost spoken-word voice makes things more eerie. Used incorrectly it can feel like a grey blur, but in Ka’s hands it just feels like a lightning storm with no thunder.
More of his videos below the jump. You can buy The Night’s Gambit here or wherever you can find him.
