Ka | Artist

Kaseem Ryan aka Ka is an American rapper and producer born 1972 in Brownsville Brooklyn, New York. His solo work has met critical acclaim and he is often noted for his focused concept albums and lyricism. He is a former member of the group Natural Elements and in 1995 he formed the group Nightbreed with his friend Kev. In 2008, he appeared on GZA's album Pro Tools on the song "Firehouse" and in that same year he released his debut album Iron Works. 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 self-produced. Ka continued to build his catalog with an extensive set of conceptual LPs. The first of these were Days with Dr Yen Lo (2015), a collaboration with Preservation, based on the film The Manchurian Candidate, and Honor Killed the Samurai (2016), a conceptual solo album paralleling New York's street culture with feudal Japan. In 2018, the rapper collaborated with producer Animoss, under the pseudonym Hermit and the Recluse, for the mythology-themed Orpheus vs. the Sirens. Ka moved into the 2020s with the biblical concepts of fifth album Descendants of Cain, as well as the more direct sixth LP, 2021's A Martyr's Reward. In 2002 Ka dropped two albums Languish Arts and Woeful Studies. The artist's releases are of a consistently high calibre, with Honor Killed the Samurai, Descendants of Cain, Languish Arts and Woeful Studies being the the standouts. The latest 2024 album The Thief Next to Jesus is also generating rave reviews. In an August 2016 New York Post story, Ka was identified as a Brooklyn-based FDNY fire captain. The article focuses on his "double life as a hip-hop artist whose songs are peppered with the N-word, drugs, violence and anti-cop lyrics." In a 2013 interview Ka discussed being a firefighter, saying "I have a full time job and I work all the time. I try to keep that kinda low."

Artist Website: brownsvilleka.com

Featured Albums: Ka

Related Artists: Kaseem Ryan, Hermit and the Recluse