Ka

Kaseem Ryan (born August 11, 1972), better known by his stage name Ka, is an American rapper, producer, and firefighter from Brownsville, Brooklyn, New York City, New York.He is a former member of the group Natural Elements. In 1998 he formed the group Nightbreed with his friend Kev. In 2008, he was re-introduced on GZA's album Pro Tools on the song "Firehouse" and in that same year he released his debut album Iron Works. In 2012, he released the follow-up Grief Pedigree on his label Iron Works. The album featured a guest appearance by Roc Marciano and was produced by Ka.In a New York Post story by a journalist, Ka was identified as a Brooklyn-based FDNY fire captain. According to an article in the New York Post, Ka projected an anti-cop image in his songs. Edelman's article referenced just two songs and discussed Ka's lyrics out of context. In a 2013 interview Ka is quoted talking about many subjects including being a firefighter with FDNY saying "I have a full time job and I work all the time. I try to keep that kinda low. I just have a job. It ain't my calling or nothing. It's just my job." He talks about growing up and drugs; "I was one of the youngest for a long time. I always had older people around me. I was always the one getting jewels dropped on. Of course, being very impressionable at a young age, I picked up everything that they was doing as far as the guns and the drugs... all that." On life in NYC, he said, "I would take the A train and I would have my box cutter on me not knowing if I had to split somebody's face open or if somebody was going to split my face." and school "I went to school because my mother didn't want me to be out in the streets, thugging. I just went to school to appease my moms. But that shit wasn't serious for me."