Descendants Of Cain - Ka: Review
Review By Lavender:
Early in Ka's career as I myself was just getting into experimental rap I wasn't that impressed with what he had to offer. But in recent years starting with his third record The Night's Gambit in 2013 I have been impressed with everything he has touched. After particularly enjoying the Japanese samurai and Greek mythology themes on his last two records I was excited about the exploration of Christian theology throughout this record and while the concept isn't explored quite as thorough as I would have liked the resulting project is still a good one.
The record kicks off with Every Now And Then tossing you right into the dark and intimate hip hop stylings that the record works in from start to finish. The instrumental on this one is a distant and wiry blend of what sounds like orchestral pieces and dark keys and Ka's focused delivery over top is just off kilter enough to get you used to everything the album will hit you with. The coolest songs on the record are the ones where Ka is both slick and unique in his lyricism as well as instrumentally impactful starting with the second song Unto The Dust. The song has some theme stating vocal samples that transition into an incredibly punchy and smooth bassline that backs the beat in a haunting and frankly awesome way. The song focuses on the violence Ka remembers from his childhood and how it has effected him and the vocal sample that kicks off the next song seems to further establish this as an important point. Patron Saints keeps up the theme but over a brighter beat with some lo-fi sampling that gives the song a distinct 2000's experimental hip hop feel that I really enjoy.
The Eye Of A Needle has one of the most creative beats on the record with some drippy natural sounding percussion and a smooth bassline. Ka is charismatic as fuck on the track and he spits stories from his memory many of which are laced with slick one liners. The song has a beat switch-up in the middle and becomes a track that sounds more like something from Honor Kills The Samurai with more frontal vocals and metaphors referencing life on the streets. Land Of Nod is a shorter track with a dusty almost western sounding beat and while the track does jump around big time lyrically there is still a semblance to the track that makes it pretty solid. Finally the closing track I Love is one of the biggest highlights on the record as he dedicates each of the songs three verses to a different person and they get better and better as the song goes on. The warm instrumental completely wraps up the track in a perfect bow to close of the record with the type of track Ka is perfect on.
Some of the songs take a much more lowkey instrumental approach and usually it results in some of the records most compelling lyricism. Solitude Of Enoch is one of the most directly thematic tracks that mirrors the story of Cain and Able including specific references to Enoch as the tracks title. The lyrical analysis compares the story to Ka's experiences in the modern world and gives the entire record its title in the hook. The biggest highlight on the record is Pray a song whose opening lines had me rewinding again and again as they standout as some of the best lyricism I've heard all year. The track parallels race relations in the current day with the stories of moral wrongs and rights in the bible. Despite having a slower instrumental it hits the right point every single time to add emphasis to what Ka is saying and makes for one of the albums most memorable songs.
There are a handful of tracks that aren't on the same level as the rest for one reason or another starting with My Brother's Keeper. The instrumental on the song is honestly intrusive of Ka's lyricism and performance particularly in the moments with wailing vocal samples in the background. I'm not sure exactly what the point of the song is lyrically either despite having a few slick one liners I don't think it is trying to say anything definitive. Sins Of The Father is actually a pretty decent song but it doesn't really live up to it's provocative title. The track is more a display of both Ka and Roc Marciano's tight flows over a lowkey but still very enticing beat. Old Justice is one of the most heavily themed songs as an analysis of justice conceptually with plenty of provocative bars but it once again comes tethered to a beat I don't love. The strummed acoustic guitar and haunting ghostly samples just don't really sound that good together and on top of that they don't seem to fit into the songs lyricism either.
Descendants Of Cain is by all means a good Ka album. While it sounds similar to his previous works and handles many of the same subjects he once again uses strong thematic and narrative devices to put a new spin on everything and it is once again rewarding. Whether he is reminiscing on childhood incidents or drawing parallels to biblical stories he is doing it with consistently interesting and unique instrumental choices and an unbreakable flow packed full of memorable lyrics. While not every song is perfect and they fail to tie into each other in any kind of grand way the record is still a very consistent and rewarding listen. 7.5/10
Album Cover Review by Tyler Judson:
Very good cover. The composition keeps my eye moving and i took me a second to determine whether it was an illustration of highly modified photo. The grayscale doesn't fall flat and has a nice contrast to it. The placement of the text is a nice addition and doesn't take over the image 7/10
For more conscious hip hop check out my review of Jay Electronica's A Written Testimony here
