The Wisdom of Ka: How To Create With Patience and Authenticity
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- hello! in this video, I discuss the creative philosophy of the Brownsville rapper Ka and what aspiring writers can learn from him. I specifically discuss the importance Ka places on having patience and authenticity in the creative process and how that can lead to truly fulfilling art. This conversation is based around multiple points Ka touches on in a 2016 Red Bull Interview which I highly recommend you give a watch (after this video of course)!
What inspires you about Ka's creative process? In what ways do you think writers can become more patient and authentic in their work? lets discuss below!
Ka Interview: • Ka on Patience and Ind...
Lyrical Analysis Series (Earl Sweatshirt, Roc Marciano, Armand Hammer, & more): • What Rappers Can Learn...
IG: a.cyanea.music
Song @ 2:36: • [FREE FOR PROFIT] GRIS... "Azucar" (prod.by diordakid)
Song @ 5:45 • [free for profit] boom... "Sunshine"
(prod. JXTRHO)
note: audio is for sure choppy in some spots. hoping to get a more stable audio set up soon but in the meantime, gots to keep rolling with the imperfections otherwise i flat out wont let myself get out of adobe and literally just get posting videos again. thank you for bearing with me!!
What inspires you about Ka's creative process? In what ways do you think writers can become more patient and authentic in their work?
Ka's brilliance is through years of losing and the introspection that came through it, he's so himself that everything clicks because he stripped himself away of everything that could shackle a writer's artistic vision : having to cater to a crowd, the need for touring, the need for drum beats, the need for hits etc..
Ka opens Honor Killed The Samurai with "I strained to obtain so I can give more", and I've never heard an artist being SO self-aware of himself. This is a career defining line, he took 40 years amassing knowledge to be able to share it.
KA is one of my favourite poets he really is one of those special talents. Thank you for the content
His secret is his vocation. Everytime he puts out a fire, he absorbs that fire’s power. At this point, he is a Super Saiyan.
genuinely think you’re onto something tho. He rarely talks about his profession but I do think that it’s indirectly big part of the way he carries himself as an artist. gotta be built different to run into fires every day 😭
Beautifully put brother!
I love how he embodies all of his lines with his authentic self. Even wordplay, can easily come off as cheesy, is used by Ka in a way that helps you get sucked into his life. The double entendres actually have a purpose, and make you sink into what he's trying to say. It isn't a word soup or puzzle to try to crack, it just gets you right to the point.
Just what I find myself gravitating towards more and more.
Thanks!! That’s a rlly key thing tho, double entendres not being word soup or a puzzle to crack. I definitely fall into that trap when writing a verse - thinking I’m making a line better by complicating it somehow.
sometimes keeping the rhymes and references low to the ground and accessible but still clever and most importantly relevant to what you’re trying to say is the way to go. Ka still makes it seem so effortless tho 😭
Love Ka. Thank you.
One of the best to ever do it. Thank you for watching!!
Ka is my all time favorite lyricist for everything you stated! Cannot wait to see what he comes up with next! Fantastic video!
Thank you!! Honestly right now he’s serving as my biggest artist inspiration even when I’m writing in other genres. Would love to get as comfortable in my craft as he is someday. dude is so inspiring 😭
He’s incredibly inspiring, in fact he was my biggest influence in starting to write and produce my own music that is just pure and honest about the life I live.
The videos you make are genuinely amazing. Learning so much from your insights even though I write non-english stories, I still get to apply them on my writing.
Everytime you put out a video I feel like it perfectly capstones what I've been picking up on in my own process.
aaaa that makes me happy to hear! glad we’re coming to these realizations with our favorite artists because it will definitely definitely pay off in our own creative endeavors :)
I knew you from your paraffin video andi was thinking about you today. i honestly just started listening to ka past honor killed the samurai this week, so i clicked this one. I AM SO GLAD I FOUND YOU AGAIN MAN.
so glad to have you!! welcome back!!!!
I must say towards the end I feel your philosophy ( or thought process based from what you took from ka) borderlines perfection, especially with what you felt the purpose of editing was. The clip you played of KA I feel even counters your point.
He mentions how he wants the music to be contextualised by the listener and not guided by his own experience writing it. This is understandable as many budding rappers and artist can be control freaks in how they want their art interpreted. Your point on editing trails off to the point where every rhyme, line and word has a purpose. Obviously this has the effect of making the art feel meaningful, however only in the context of the artist. If, as an artist, you spend a significant portion of your creative process double taking all of the ideas and takes you produce, truth is it will harm how you view yourself before anything.
The truth is the listener is the one that ascribes that meaning (like KA says), and being caught up in the almost perfectionist mentality that everything has a rightful place (s/o radiohead) can lose the humanity and creativity within the art. Like you said there is no bad earl track, yet many believed his delivery to be too "off beat" and alternative for there taste during the start and throughout his career. He didn't achieve such a polarising and respected place in Hip-Hop by making a finely polished product, but by being truly expressive and creative in his writing and production processes.
Perfectionism has no place in hip-hop!!! Especially now, more than ever (s/o lucki), with playboi carti pushing the sound and the alternative and underground like in particular, westside gunn, in Griselda and niontay (u must play his song with mike and earl and easily recognise how rappers not "finely" crafting leads to boundary pushing and fun music) can still have layered and dense discographies without needing to meticulously create them. I feel by putting these great artist on pedestals, believing their processes are leaps ahead of ours can turn art into a science, and do a great job at making the majority of artist who never see the same commercial success, a little insecure about their own perfectly personal process.
Loved the vid U.R and would love to talk more about hip hop in general!!
This is a really interesting point and I can definitely see how I might have indirectly argued for perfectionism in hip-hop. 100% agree with you that perfectionism has no place in hip-hop (or really anywhere creatively you could argue). the earl example is a great one and I’d add MIKE as another example as an artist with lots of imperfections that really are a major part of what makes his art feel authentic.
Really what I was trying to say is that I feel that editing intentionally or meticulously is valuable in the context of the artist ensuring that they can confidently feel that they’ve expressed their point or meaning in the way that they wanted to - and that includes deciding what imperfections they’re comfortable with leaving in their work.
Even though that kind of editing can take a long time, the benefit is the artist not compromising on their vision and instead having a higher chance of feeling genuinely happy with what they put out. Also, I think it generally makes for a clearer and more concise POV for listeners to digest. After that point, you’re right it’s totally up to the listener to figure out what that piece of art means to them.
that’s a great point though like yes 100% NO perfectionism in hip-hop. it’s a killer and definitely don’t want anyone to draw that conclusion from this video. it’s all a fine line between treating your work with care and then knowing when to let it be so that listeners can add their own perspectives to what you’ve created.
ty for this!!
🙏🏾
Love the review good sir