Brownsville DIY champ Ka released Honor Killed the Samurai, his fourth solo album, over the weekend. Those who’ve been following the veteran know what to expect here: laser-focused raps over addictive instrumental loops.
“[Samurai] committed acts of seppuku — some people know it as harakiri, or suicide,” Ka said when explaining the album title in a phone conversation with SPIN. “They would take their own lives, and it’s honor that killed them. It seems fitting to relate it to the art that I do. I’m treasuring something in the art of hip-hop that isn’t really treasured anymore. I’m hurting my career, by treasuring lyrics in an art form, when no one really cares now, but I care. I kill myself for that.”
The 10-track release comes with a video for album cut “Just.” The visuals, animated by Kyle Samuels, is a bleak story that follows the cycle of the street corner, violence, and prison through the eyes of one man. Watch the video and stream the album below.
