Grief Pedigree: The Hem of His Garment

Imaga via Ka/Website

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Ka’s precise and vivid words melded perfectly with austere hymnal loops that sounded like they were plucked from the scores of ancient tragedies. The affect was beautiful and enlightening.

Listen to the visceral concision of lines like “with marred mental, I’m God’s pencil, the stencil unique/Was birthed to serf servant observing emperors eat” – off  my favorite Ka song, “Grapes of Wrath.” Or even take the chorus of “if you really wanted to bless me, would’ve left me that collection plate” on “Collection Plate” from his latest and likely last, album, The Thief Next to Jesus.

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This succinct, expressionistic, symbolic and analytical writing explains why Ka was not only one of the best rappers alive, he was one of the best poets, short story writers, and philosophers. How could another writer hope to even touch the hem of his garment?

Enmeshed in an attention economy that incentivizes cynicism, unhealthy engagement and willful ignorance, Ka found the answer: disengage and quietly focus on your life, your loved one, your ethics and your craft. Re-listening to Ka’s discography, you hear the process working.

Ka had talent from his earliest recordings with Natural Elements, but you heard him get better on every track, every guest verse, and every album. More precise. More evocative. More clear about not just the world he was building in his songs, but also about his own thoughts navigating the terrestrial world.

Released just two months before he died, The Thief Next to Jesus is about the hypocrisy of religious institutions in the face of suffering, subjugation and exploitation. Simultaneously, it concerns the yearning for peace, justice, morality, and connection to something beyond the self. This duality is a theme that Ka returned to over and over again, expanding his writing, refining it and editing it down to the most necessary elements.

It’s a tragedy that Ka passed away so young. A tragedy that he’ll no longer be here to continue observing and writing about the atrocities of our world. Yet Ka left us a legacy in his music and his ethics. He was not a wandering rōnin conniving to get ahead of his fellow artists while waiting to be called up to fame and fortune. He was a samurai dedicated to honing his craft, honoring his ethics, and protecting his loved ones. He was upright, selfless, and humanitarian in a violent, exploitative and cynical time.

This is a tribute mix of some of Ka’s music that played on my radio show, For You on KNSJ, 89.1 FM in San Diego, California on Tuesday October 22. (Because the show is on territorial radio, we have to follow FCC rules, which dictates that only three songs from one artist can be played per show.)

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