SOTY-Peace Akhi by KA (AOTY The Night’s Gambit)

by Dan-O

The reason I loved KA’s 2012 lp Grief Pedigree is that he sounded like a war worn weary ex-criminal grandfather blazing street tale after street tale through visceral poetic imagery. If Grief Pedigree is the work of a retired street soldier, The Night’s Gambit is the work of a dark genius.

KA has produced all three of his albums and tweaked his sound each time, getting more adventurous with better vocal sample lead in’s. The bell tolling beat here is super sinister and He uses the metaphor of street life as a chess game not as a forced brag but to build intensity.

The real draw here for any hip hop fan is the lyrics and you have to listen for all the gems, here’s some examples from Peace Akhi: “This corners a stage with rage I go perform”, “my heart is never the question, I write hard phonetic aggression” “My art is parked in the medicine section,” “The mic and I are like staff and shepard.”

This song is so effectively spooky that I was genuinely creeped out on the first listen then I realized how rare that is when listening to rap. The Night’s Gambit doesn’t have a useless second on it and If you lament the name brand bag namecheck culture, the skinny jeans and Big Sean flow…this could be your solution. Don’t say that KA is a throwback, if anything, say he’s a top 5 lyricist and a self made artist.