Celebrated New York City rapper and former firefighter Ka, whose actual identify was Kaseem Ryan, has died, in keeping with his social media accounts. He was 52.
He handed away “unexpectedly” on Saturday, an announcement on his Instagram account, verified by NBC News, stated on Monday. It praised his contributions to firefighting, to his beloved neighborhood of Brownsville and to hip-hop as a part of a “lifetime of service—to his metropolis, to his neighborhood, and to his music.”
A explanation for loss of life was not accessible, and a spokesperson for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner didn’t instantly reply to a request for info.
“Capt. Ryan served the FDNY and the individuals of the town of New York with distinction for 20 years, working assignments in each the Bronx and Brooklyn,” New York City Fire Department spokesperson Jim Long stated by e mail. “The Ryan household stays in our ideas throughout their time of loss.”
The rapper’s artistry gained notoriety amongst critics, songwriters and fellow emcees comparatively late in his life, as he first wowed audiences in 2008 with messages and music that existed virtually totally beneath the floor, in an indie-rap scene the place charts and Ferraris have little foreign money.
Ka turned recognized for his revealed lyrics and collaborations with the likes of GZA of Wu-Tang Clan and producer Roc Marciano. He maintained area within the heads of critics and fellow hip-hop artists for his humble, delicate and stinging rhymes, with some calling him one of many hip-hop’s biggest writers.
The observe “$,” featured on Ka’s celebrated 2016 album, “Honor Killed the Samurai,” detonated mainstream hip-hop, describing it as celebratory in a time of metaphorical battle.
“With bars of greed, I plead, what number of automobiles you want? When fathers bleed to fill ribs of youngsters that hardly learn/F— your loot rhymes, and the brand new finds you bought/If you ain’t buyin’ no soup for them soup strains and church buildings,” he wrote.
In a 2016 profile headline, music publication The Fader known as Ka “New York Rap’s Greatest Living Treasure.” Hip-hop journalist Jeff Weiss stated Monday on X that Ka was “the grasp of quiet rage,” whose music contained “ache, grief and knowledge in each bar.”
The announcement on Ka’s Instagram web page stated he produced 11 albums beneath his identify. “He leaves a unprecedented legacy as a recording artist,” it stated.
Ka’s story is uncommon on a number of ranges, together with his success later in life after he eschewed the recording studio in favor of a 20-year firefighting profession that, in keeping with the assertion on his Instagram account, introduced him to the historic tragedy of 9/11 as a primary responder and finally noticed him attain the rank of captain.
He informed The Fader {that a} cousin gave him $1,000 in 1989 so he may buy studio time. In 1994, Ka’s identify first appeared on a document as he participated in a undertaking by Natural Elements, a collective of emcees and hip-hop artists.
His microphone desires light, nevertheless, and it wasn’t till the 2000s that he returned to recording, finally releasing “Iron Works” in 2008. He informed Complex journal that he was impressed to indicate his mom he hadn’t wasted his youth making an attempt to be a rapper.
“I wished to provide my mom a CD to place in her hand,” he is quoted as saying. “I simply wished to show that I didn’t waste 20 years of mastering a craft with out something to indicate for it.”
According to music publication Pitchfork, that was additionally the 12 months Ka’s fame as a poetic emcee made its approach to fellow Brooklyn native GZA (Gary Grice) of Wu-Tang Clan. GZA invited him to rhyme on the observe “Firehouse,” featured on GZA’s “Pro Tools” album. Ka’s flip behind the mic with GZA appeared to certify his standing as a low-key legend.
The observe preceded numerous solo productions that put Ka’s identify in circulation as a prime lyricist. His final recognized recording, “The Thief Next to Jesus,” was launched in August.
Ka is survived by his spouse, his mom and his sister, in keeping with the assertion on his Instagram account.
In an announcement on her verified Instagram account on Monday, spouse Mimi Valdes known as Ka, “My king, my hero, my finest good friend.”