Album of the Week #12: Ka - Honor Killed the Samurai
This is Album of the Week #12 ~ This week's album is Ka - Honor Killed the Samurai
Year of Release: 2016
Genre(s): Abstract Hip Hop
Country: United States
Length: 36 minutes
RYM | Listen! (Album.Link)
Excerpt from Stereogum:
Ka raps in a desiccated mutter. His production, which seems to draw on half-forgotten film scores and haunted ’60s instrumentals, is pure headphone haze. Throughout history, most of the great rappers have brought an outsized, extroverted flair to what they’ve done, and Ka has none of that. Instead, his presence is a murky, monastic intensity. He does not make social music. He makes music for getting trapped in your own mind.
Discussion points:
Have you heard this artist/album before? Is this your first time hearing?
Do you enjoy this genre? Is this an album you would have chosen?
Does this album remind you of something you've heard before?
What were the album's strengths or weaknesses?
Was there a standout track for you?
How did you hear the album? Where were you? What was your setup?
--
I wouldn't hesitate to list Ka as one of the greatest working MCs currently. While other artists have blended hip hop and spoken word poetry, Ka is unmatched in making hip hop poetic.
'Honor Killed the Samurai' is a great entry point to his work. The beats (which he produced) are some of his more simple, but they're catchy and give room to the words. Ka would go on to use other mythologies to decorate his music - 'Orpheus vs. the Sirens' with Greek, and 'Descendants of Cain' with Biblical. In those I think Ka gives himself much more freedom to abstract the themes and allagories, but 'Samurai' stands apart as being more heavily rooted in Gansta Rap. The old martial-art movie samples are a staple of the genre, and there's no mistaking Ka's messaging here - this is an album about being on the streets of Brooklyn.
If anyone enjoys this, I strongly encourage them to explore those other records, I think he takes what he builds on 'Samurai' and really refines himself as a wordsmith, but also a world-builder into those different themes. That said, there's something satisfying about how uncomplicated this album is - it does away with the flowers.
Above all else - jesus christ, the thing is so fucking cool.
I enjoyed this one a lot - as you mentioned in your comment, the production, samples, and beats all lead to that cool feeling, even while the lyrics and wordplay called back to a life growing up on the streets. The thing that stuck out to me the most was a contrast to some of the other hip hop we've had so far was that there was anger in the words, but it was anger trying to be directed in a positive direction. I also thought the samurai theme and samples that led from one song to the next really lead to this album feeling like a cohesive album which is always something that will give an album a positive mark in my book.
I think it also helped to listen to this at home on my nice headphones and it helped that it came in at a not-too-long 36 minutes or so, so I probably will check out one or two of the other albums you mentioned when I have a chance.
Thanks for the posts as always, I hope everyone reading has a nice day :)