Brownsville rapper Ka has just dropped his latest album, A Martyr’s Reward, where the 48-year-old rapper laments about his rugged past and spins tales of the way he made it out.
Ka rarely traverses Twitter, but a month before the album's release, he took to social media to share his excitement about this project.
“Been working hard to bring you music that I’m excited about, for this and the coming year,” Ka tweeted. “Thank you for your patience and the inspiration. Around late august…keep an eye out. Peace.”
The message was as plain and to the point as A Martyr’s Reward. Beyond this album having a dope title, Ka doesn’t hide behind over-the-top flexings of riches or the smoke and mirrors of exhausted snares and production that other rappers do to mask their lack of lyrical ability. Ka speaks of the workings of the real world, the Brownsville neighborhood where he grew up, and how that environment shaped him.
On the album’s single, “I Notice,” Ka spits about being taught by either a “belt or a bullet” over an eerie beat and using an even more unnerving tone as he spits. He never raises his voice and never breaks eye contact, invoking in his listeners the belief that the things he chronicles are real.
You can listen to Ka’s new album, A Martyr’s Reward, on the rapper’s website here and watch the music video for “I Notice” above.
