Dec 5, 2017 - ka & preservation - days with dr yen lo ka - grief pedigree kemba..
After Ka released sophomore album Grief Pedigree to widespread acclaim in 2012, the DIY emcee/producer/cover artist/music video director gave a number of interviews in which he stated that he works very slowly, dedicating meticulous attention to each aspect of every project. In one especially revealing interview, he proclaims his desire to be “the hip-hop version of Sade” before going on to state, “I craft my music, it takes a long time. I do it and I think it aint right and do it again, and again. I’m looking for perfect rhymes.” Indeed, there’d been four years in between Iron Works and its follow-up, so it came as quite the shock when Ka announced a few months ago via Twitter that his third album, The Night’s Gambit, would arrive July 13, 2013.
One week after the release date, anybody who’s half as serious about listening to music as Ka is about making it still isn’t quite ready to deliver any definitive remarks about the album other than the obvious: the rhymes are ill, and the beats, also ill, evince that Ka’s sample palate has developed along with his skills and confidence as a producer. One still-forming idea I’ll bring early to the discussion relates to the album title itself and the entire chess concept, which runs throughout via dialogue lifted from Searching for Bobby Fischer and Fresh. It could be that this concept is not a concept at all, that it is merely a device tacked on at the last minute to add a final sense of cohesion to the completed work, but knowing how Ka operates, that is not likely the case.
Consider that chess imagery was previously employed by The Wu-Tang Clan, particularly GZA, who dedicated an entire album to the topic with 2005’s Grandmasters and owns the distinction of being the first universally respected MC to publicly cosign Ka, having featured him on “Firehouse” off 2008’s Pro-Tools. On that very track, Ka spits, “Fuck that queen, I’ll show you what a knight and a rook would do.” It seems he’s now making good on that promise.
The Night’s Gambit is available for purchase on LP, CD or iTunes via Ka’s website. Stream it free via NPR.
• Ka: http://brownsvilleka.com
More about: KA
(Redirected from Grief Pedigree)
Birth name | Kaseem Ryan[1] |
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Born | August 11, 1972 (age 47)[1] |
Origin | Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States |
Genres | Hip hop |
Years active | 1993-present |
Labels | Iron Works |
Associated acts | Metal Clergy, Roc Marciano, GZA, Natural Elements, Nightbreed, Preservation |
Website | Brownsville Ka |
Kaseem Ryan (born August 11, 1972), better known by his stage nameKa, is an American rapper, producer, and firefighter from Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City, New York.[2][3][4][5][6][7]
He is a former member of the group Natural Elements.[8] In 1998 he formed the group Nightbreed with his friend Kev.[9] In 2008, he was re-introduced on GZA's album Pro Tools on the song 'Firehouse' and in that same year he released his debut album Iron Works.[10] In 2012, he released the follow-up Grief Pedigree on his label Iron Works. The album featured a guest appearance by Roc Marciano and was produced by Ka.[11]
In a New York Post story by a journalist, Ka was identified as a Brooklyn-based FDNY fire captain. According to an article in the New York Post, Ka projected an anti-cop image in his songs. Edelman's article referenced just two songs and discussed Ka's lyrics out of context.[12]
In a 2013 interview Ka is quoted talking about many subjects including being a firefighter with FDNY saying 'I have a full time job and I work all the time. I try to keep that kinda low. I just have a job. It ain't my calling or nothing. It's just my job.' He talks about growing up and drugs; 'I was one of the youngest for a long time. I always had older people around me. I was always the one getting jewels dropped on. Of course, being very impressionable at a young age, I picked up everything that they was doing as far as the guns and the drugs... all that.' On life in NYC, he said, 'I would take the A train and I would have my box cutter on me not knowing if I had to split somebody's face open or if somebody was going to split my face.' and school 'I went to school because my mother didn't want me to be out in the streets, thugging. I just went to school to appease my moms. But that shit wasn't serious for me.'[13]
- 1Discography
Discography[edit]
Solo albums[edit]
Title | Album details |
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Iron Works |
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Grief Pedigree |
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The Night's Gambit |
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Honor Killed The Samurai |
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Collaborative albums[edit]
Title | Album details |
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Days With Dr. Yen Lo (with Preservation, as Dr. Yen Lo) |
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Piece Be with You (with Roc Marciano, as Metal Clergy)[14] |
|
Orpheus vs. the Sirens (with Animoss, as Hermit and the Recluse)[15] |
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EPs[edit]
Title | Album details |
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1200 B.C. (with Preservation) |
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The Superfly Single |
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References[edit]
- ^ abToren, Ben (August 8, 2012). 'The little labels that could'. CNN Money. Retrieved July 22, 2013.
- ^'Ka: Carrying On Tradition'. BET.com. 19 October 2011. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^'Ka ft. Roc Marciano - 'Iron Age' [VIDEO]'. Hip-Hop Wired. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^'Watch All of Ka's 'Grief Pedigree' Videos Here - XXL'. XXL. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^'Notes From Ka's One-Man Pop-Up Shop - MTV Hive'. MTV Hive. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^'Stream The Night's Gambit, the darkly smouldering new LP from Brooklyn rapper Ka - FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music'. FACT Magazine: Music News, New Music. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^'No Country for Old (Rap) Men: The importance of Ka'. ACCLAIM. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^'First Look Fridays: Ka From Brownsville'. Okayplayer. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^Jeff Rosenthal. 'Interview: Ka Talks Newfound Recognition, Mailing Out His Own Albums, and What Jay-Z Is Doing for Brooklyn'. Complex. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^'Ka'. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^'Ka'. Pitchfork. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^'FDNY veteran 'bad-mouths' cops in double life as rapper'. New York Post. 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- ^'Who Is Ka?'. Complex. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
- ^'Roc Marciano Already Has 5 More Albums Ready To Drop After Reloaded'. Hip-Hop Wired. Retrieved 9 March 2015.
- ^@brownsvilleka (4 May 2018). 'Hermit and the Recluse is Animoss and Ka' (Tweet) – via Twitter.
External links[edit]
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ka_(rapper)&oldid=919012632'