VPRO Club Lees Hip-hop lecture: the sirens of rapper Ka

In this lecture, poet Mahat Arab shows why Ka should be your favorite too, as poetry can be found throughout his work.Ka was an American rapper and firefighter from New York, who passed away in 2024. He was known for his concept albums, in which he explored themes through extended metaphors. In Honor Killed The Samurai, he compares growing up in Brownsville, NY to the life of a samurai; in Orpheus vs. The Sirens, he delves into Greek mythology. Drawing a parallel between the Sirens, who could lure you into the sea with their song, and police sirens that can take you to jail is so natural that it’s surprising it hasn’t become a cliché already. Ka has that gift: he says it, and suddenly it exists. Will you come and listen?