2018 Album Retrospective #3: Hermit and the Recluse - Orpheus vs. the Sirens
New York rapper Ka is an enigmatic figure, no doubt. For someone of his level of acclaim to maintain a full-time job as a firefighter instead of being a rapper foremost speaks to his character, certainly. First-time listeners might be put off by a man who raps slowly, almost lazily, over largely morose production, muttering to themselves "when's he gonna start spitting for real?" My personal experience can corroborate that feeling at least, upon my initial taste of Ka's widely praised 2016 outing Honor Killed the Samurai. But just as that record only gets better with repeat listens, Orpheus vs. the Sirens is something special in its own right.
If there is a hook to grab onto this album with that wasn't present in the past, it is Ka tapping talented producer Animoss to craft the beats this time around, a decision that pays off in spades. The production all across this album is carefully crafted with screeching guitar lines, orchestration, and (fortunately for some of Ka's critics) ample drumming. The rich, sprawling sound greatly benefits Ka throughout the album, enveloping his voice in atmosphere yet never overpowering his thoughtful lines. The beats keep the record's flow moving steadily forward underneath Ka's careful lyrics, pushing his voice forward just as the ocean waves do underneath the famed ship Argo.
The album's title is, of course, a reference to the famous Greek musician and poet, a mythological persona that Ka effortlessly slides into and raps from the perspective of across the album's ten tracks. Just as Honor Killed the Samurai borrowed from the rich history of Japanese warriors, the song titles here are all references to figures and concepts from ancient Greek legends.
Ka goes beyond simple recitation of myth, however, using each tale to draw a poignant connection to modern day life. Sometimes it is a more surface-level metaphor, such as with Golden Fleece representing wealth or Orpheus himself being personified as Ka. However, the genius of the analogy shines brightest when Ka cleverly pulls at a mythological concept to represent his feelings and experiences. He wonders if he got to where he is through hard work, or if Fate (perhaps in its Greek form as three goddesses) is responsible for his achievements. He feels his responsibilities as if he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders on Atlas, just as the Greek titan does in the well-known legend.
This brilliant combination of myth and modernity is introduced at the very beginning of the record on the track Sirens, where Ka ends each couplet of his verse with one such comparison. "Not just car thieves, large pleas, came home hard murderers/By the death toll, would've thought the threshold was guarded by Cerberus": Ka hits the listener with one piece of imagery after another, painting a picture of his lower-class struggle so vividly one wonders why no other rapper has drawn from Greek mythology before.
It might be illustrative normally to pull certain bars from the album to attempt to highlight and explain Ka's genius, but maybe he says it best himself on the track The Punishment of Sisyphus: "They comme ci comme ca/Want a world of superlatives, come see Ka". Like Orpheus, Ka sees himself throughout this album as beyond his peers, and even his boasts are impressive in their own right. Still, he draws a careful line between himself and the Greek poet later in that verse: "Oft innovation often mistaken as Orpheus/That man sing that he ran thing but couldn't walk with us". Ka, despite his talent, grew up the same as his contemporaries, and his humble origins lend credence and sensibility to his lyrics.
Ka has never been the type to make anything resembling accessible music, and he probably never will be. But it's honestly refreshing to hear an MC that writes lyrics that are this intricate, that demand your full attention and force you to reckon with anything and everything he's saying. That may be too much to ask of some people, unfortunately. But if that sounds condescending, it's only because Ka is so damn talented that his music is almost always worth the time and effort. That being said, Animoss and his contributions may have been a much-needed change of pace, and the result is another testament to Ka's lyrical genius, and one of the best rap albums of the year.