This isn’t going to be a particularly formal piece because Ka is so important to me as a hip-hop fan, writer, consumer of media, and person. Just venting really.
Ka was one of the first underground rappers I became a really big fan of – “underground” in the sense of the current revival scene of New York boombap. By 2024, most people know to pay respects to Roc Marciano as the godfather of the scene, with some occasional shouts to Sean Price, The Alchemist, and even Action Bronson. But Ka has always been intrinsically tied to the career of Roc, like an angel and devil on your shoulders. Even at his most involved, Ka took the dusty delivery and introspection to a level than nobody else has dared; so sure the influence on Griselda or whoever isn’t so obvious, but you’re seeing now how important he was to all of them, in a way that goes much deeper than coke raps or drumless beats.
We’re seeing countless artists come out to express their love, reaching far beyond either of these scenes and far outside Brownsville; I think you can credit Ka to some degree for any indie artist with such devotion to their own style and displays of their own true selves.
If anything, Ka’s influence is better felt in artists who are a little more understated and introspective like the whole sLUms scene (Navy Blue being one of the few to be graced with a feature). The rawness and emotion, shirking any classic hip-hop conventions of head-nodding or catchiness; just bars. Bars and honesty. Honesty: whether it’s about yourself or about your environment. It’s the most genuine expression in the genre despite being so distant from its upbeat roots. It’s so far off from those roots, yet so entrenched in the culture at large.
You can talk influence all day, but it’s also not like anybody will ever come close to replicating his style or skills. Can you imagine how many times somebody told him over the years to get some drums or to speak up when he raps? Fuck that. He was completely uncompromising in his vision and took the genre he came up in to a totally new degree of poetic expression. Who else is doing drumless albums about Greek Mythology?
Admittedly, for how much I listened to him in that 2016-2020 run, I started to take him for granted; all these concept albums with relatively similar sounds but peerless lyricism. Regardless, they were all at that same mandatory level of quality assurance, and a first time listener would surely love Languish Arts, for example, as much as anything else. All these concepts were genius in creating a new sandbox of wordplay, samples, and lenses to his lifestyle.
Whether you like the sound or not, you have to respect that indie drive. Sit down, read the lyrics and it’s undeniable GOAT material. You can say that about lots of underground artists who never got a fair industry shake, but Ka might be the ultimate example.
On that note though, it’s amazing some of the fun facts that pop up about him; he got shouts from 50 Cent and is married to Mimi Valdes. His breakthrough was on a 2008 GZA record, but his first group Natural Elements goes all the way back to 1993. All those connections and he still chose to do his own thing.
For a supposed hermit, it sure is amazing hearing some of the touching stories coming out from his contemporaries now. The way he treated his fans – vinyl for $50, daps and hugs for free – and the obvious fact he was a fucking FDNY captain. That’s a whole different article of its own. This was a man that cared for his community unconditionally: fans, peers, fam and neighbors all alike.
Finally, on a personal level, Ka has been a big part of my journey as a hip-hop fan. I wrote a paper about Hamlet years ago using “Conflicted” as a lens. He put me on to Roc, who’s basically my favorite rapper ever, and led me down the New York revival rabbit hole. He was an indie guy who I could count on to re-up every year and I was happy to support it like clockwork. And – as random as this sounds without getting too deep into it – he was the foundation to some of my great friendships and memories.
I hope if anything comes of this loss it’s that his legend will grow. We’ve seen it with DOOM or Sean P for those in similar lanes, and there’s nothing wrong with being late to the show – particularly for music as singular as this. MC’s need to take notes and fans can find something like they’ve never heard before, so timeless and touching. I’m happy to say I gave him his flowers as much as I could in life. Take that as a lesson for your favorite underground artists and pay it forward.
I can only say thank you to Ka for all he’s done for me and for hip-hop. Rest in peace.