Ka is a Top Level Elite Lyricist

[Peter Parker]

All our Santas carried them hammers
Our guidance counselors was talented scramblers
Spiritual leaders, ran a number hold
Tyc00ns moved in vests, and kept a money roll
We bought the noise, gun and bust, none of us altar boys
With army issue harm a tissue, we ain't walk with toys
The rawest from any wars one of New York deploys
Made Orphan Annies like all the families court destroys
It's the elder man, sold things pray I never sell again
Son trust, bum rush if they ain't let us in
The lepers infected us, said it was medicine
Well life's tribal, fight for survival, that's all it's ever been
Nothing blessèd, even the bonds of friends are tested
Would you surrender if you did it but your man's arrested?
Our peacekeepers bust they gun repeated
Our caregivers stole everything we needed
It's D-Day, each week in BK you see us here grimacin'
Never marinate on beef you don't plan on finishin'
'Cause every effort's for the record, we ain't here scrimmagin'
Soon as son start shinin', they tryna diminish him
They nay behavior made us braver, thicker armor
Ain't kill who you aimed at, came back quick as karma
So par, so far haven't missed in the midst of drama
Now I notice 'em pick me up at they lowest, it's a honor
A monk swore a vow of silence to the jakes
Our yogis did stretches upstate
Our Sir Lancelot's at round tables cuttin' eighths
Our mogul just caught another case
Started with less, then progressed to bare minimum
Can't just happen upon no chips, gotta be here winnin' em
That's what food is for, hungry if you lose or draw
Every session I'm pressin' to press jewels galore
Used to violate tryin' make, that's what every move was for
The only particular mission of the crew was accruin' more
With impressive steel, dressed to kill, you know the lifestyle
Hit the curb to serve the early bird, and the night owl
To fix these broken pockets, had to break some hearts
Can't be bothered to hit your target, gotta make some marks
Quiet and frigid disposition, growin' up in the cold
Surprised I ain't get high from what I was low enough to behold
Like when Pops shot at the neighbor's shop, put one in his head
He knew how he grew me, threw me the gun, a hundred, and fled
Didn't play, 'fore po' arose dispose of exhibit A
I was raised to age a few years in a day
If not elite, didn't eat if you didn't pray
As much as I heal, had to deal, all my scars are here to stay
Our senseis spent days peddling
Our heroes sold heroin

I think it's fine to relinquish mine for the life of our seeds
From weak moves these dudes eat your food like harpies
Not just car thieves, large pleas, came home hardened murderers
By the death toll, would've thought the threshold was guarded by Cerberus
It's hard to love, and if only God could judge, who needs juries?
Weighin' the crime, still payin' for mine, haunted by the Three Furies
Should discover y'all brothers instead of throwin' signs that divide you
It ain't never shoot you, just headed to you with nines
It's the Hydra
Being deprived of the papes made a lot of mistakes in my era
Hard life course you needed white horse to defeat the Chimera
Every morning wake, never caught a break, revealed I was jinxed
To be the man deciphers life's riddle or get killed by the Sphinx
Quietly spoke volume of my drama, since then I've been at war
It's no bull, my lab was in a labyrinth like the Minotaur
Rose from the pavement unaided, negotiated like the sly fox
I told son, won't be fooled by no one, like the Cyclops
The more static, the more tatted, you would've thought yakuza
Large crops or hard rocks, it's like we all saw Medusa
Till the roar of the silence, we at war with the tyrants
Blocks of outlaws, but all we watch out for is the Sirens

 

[Peter Parker]

Reminds me of Jay Elect on how it super lyrical but not corny spiritual miracle shyt at all, just GAS

 

[flexico]

I think you’ll find among those actually listening to Ka, very few disagree

can make me sleepy though

 

[b33lz]

His writing is impeccable.

 

[FruitOfTheVale]

The way I look at KA, he's one of the cleverest writers around but not the most technical nor the most emotive. His writing is extremely distilled/concise and he's really good at allegory and wordplay, his delivery also suits his style of writing. What he doesn't excel at that much is the type of lyricism that centers around expressing depth of emotion. Someone like Pharaohe Monch or Andre 3K is able to execute that type of lyricism much more potently. The interconnectivity of their delivery & lyrics makes you feel them the first time you hear it, whereas KA's words are the star of the show, and often require a couple of listens to actually pick up on the nuance of what he's saying, because his delivery doesn't tell the story. Ironically, for that reason I personally find I'm actually more likely to pick up on a triple/double entendre in real time coming from Pharoahe or Andre than I would from KA because I'm tuned in more to the whole of what they're saying in the moment. Reading KA's lyrics on paper is where they shine the most.

 

[brianwuzhere]

Crazy his pen hasn't dulled yet and he's nearly pushing 50. He could do this forever if he wants, no one else is in his lane.

 

[Peter Parker]

The way I look at KA, he's one of the cleverest writers around but not the most technical nor the most emotive. His writing is extremely distilled/concise and he's really good at allegory and wordplay, his delivery also suits his style of writing. What he doesn't excel at that much is the type of lyricism that centers around expressing depth of emotion. Someone like Pharaohe Monch or Andre 3K is able to execute that type of lyricism much more potently. The interconnectivity of their delivery & lyrics makes you feel them the first time you hear it, whereas KA's words are the star of the show, and often require a couple of listens to actually pick up on the nuance of what he's saying, because his delivery doesn't tell the story. Ironically, for that reason I personally find I'm actually more likely to pick up on a triple/double entendre in real time coming from Pharoahe or Andre than I would from KA because I'm tuned in more to the whole of what they're saying in the moment. Reading KA's lyrics on paper is where they shine the most.

Good point about his delivery, GZA past LS has a similar issue but I think the level of Ka's lyricism makes up for where he lacks delivery

 

[FruitOfTheVale]

Good point about his delivery, GZA past LS has a similar issue but I think the level of Ka's lyricism makes up for where he lacks delivery

Yeah I agree, when I'm in the headspace to listen to KA there's few (if any) who match him in terms of depth.

At the same time, I have a hard time listening to his albums front to back because staying in that headspace is a chore. Also, he rarely deviates from the hood philosopher type content, he changes his allegories each album but the focus (and even the flow) is pretty much the same each time.

If I play a Pharoahe Monch album, he's versatile enough to be rapping about 100 different topics if he wanted to and he'll actually make you feel where he's coming from no matter what the topic is. He might literally have 5 concept tracks on one album that have absolutely nothing to do with each other topically but somehow pulls it off. It's a different skill set, I'm not diminishing KA at all but there are different aspects to lyricism to consider. emceeing and lyricism are two sides of the same coin.

 

[LevelUp]

Gotta get into him more he can be a tad bit monotone for me but I get it.