I am once again, sitting in my room, in front of my computer, writing my sixth and final blog. Behind me is my record player, spinning today’s vinyl pick. For this final blog, I have picked New York producer and DJ, Preservation’s 2020 LP, Eastern Medicine, Western Illness. This is an incredible record, completely made out of samples that he found while living in Hong Kong, the whole project is in honor of said city. But the reason I have chosen this record in particular is because of a special feature.
Kaseem Ryan, better known as Ka delivers an amazing verse. Earlier this week, Ka sadly passed away, I was and still am heartbroken. I have thus decided to dedicate this blog to him, in honor of this amazing artist that we had the privilege to have. Of course, this is a Digital Media blog, so I can’t just talk about Ka, although I would if I had the chance. My own personal story with Ka actually connects with the wider theme of this blog: Algorithms.
Algorithms: A Human Tool for the Greater Good
As I had mentioned earlier, I am listening to a record from Preservation as it has a feature from Ka (not to discredit Preservation and the other features on the album, it is all very good). The reason why I am not listening to a Ka vinyl is because I do not have any physical version of Ka’s work. This is due to Ka being a truly independant artist. From his music, to how he distributes it. He would print his records all in a very limited amount, all himself, without the help of a record label. Due to this, his records were only available in very select amounts, in specific moments, at specific times. So unless you were in New York City during one of his events, getting his vinyls is a hard task (and I am not about to pay thousands to a scummy re-seller that will profit out of this man’s unique work).
In one of my earlier blogs, I had touched upon the fact that most of my new music discoveries came from vinyl purchases. But, Ka was an exception, a very beautiful exception. Ka did not put his music on streaming services until much later in his career. He would distribute the MP3 files on his website. But the day that he put his albums on Spotify, it opened up the doors for me to enter his realm. Ka is one of those artists that I discovered thanks to the Spotify algorithm.
If you are a usual Spotify user, I am sure you have stumbled upon the type of playlist seen above. This is called “Discover Weekly”. It’s a playlist that recomends music that the Spotify algortihm believes you will like. I do not use it frequently, as a matter of fact, the times I usually listen to it, the algortihm recomends me music that I already know through vinyl or that I am not really into. For example, if I were to listen to a song for other purposes other than my own enjoyment, the algorithm would recomend me similar music that I am simply not interested in. However, it does usually recomend my music that is just in my lane. I am a big Hip Hop head, from the most experimental madness, to the hardest of trap, to the most classic of boom bap. Spotify’s algorithm must have picked up that around 2021, I was really into a specific minimalist, underground scene type of Hip Hop. The type of Hip Hop by artists such as Roc Marciano or Navy Blue. So, it ended up recomending me a 2018 song by Ka. I fell in love. I was thus introduced into the world of one of the greatest minds in Hip Hop. I am sure that for many other people, the algorithm must have helped them find Ka, and any other unique artists. So despite my preference for phyisical media and my general dislike of algorithmic culture, I am thankful for it to have shown me Ka.
For the Ugliest Evil and all that Lies in Between
The algorithm is not just a tool for discovering amazing artists however. It goes without saying that any algorithm can cause great harm. The way I see it is that it is a human tool. Like any human, or any human creation, it is able to make great good, ugly evil and just exist neutrally at the same time. Algorithms are flawed, they are systems created by humans based on very specific maths. It can thus ignore many factors that exist outside data, outside a given answer.
In one of my other early blogs, I touched upon the damage that an algorithm can cause to an individual’s mental health. In my case, the agressive YouTube algorithm lead a vulnerable young Pablo, that had just spent some hard days due to the 2017 series of earthquakes that hit Mexico City, to spend some even worse days. I was a very anxious boy, the algorithm can not know that. So to the algorithm, recomending me apocalyptic videos regarding the earthquakes was simply what it was meant to do.
I believe this to be an example of algorithms working in what lies between good and evil, like most things in the world. Granted, it is a rather negative in between but at the end of the day it is a personal experience that did not hurt the collective directly, just other people like me. But what happens when the algorithm hurts the collective? When is it capable of great bad? The 2020 Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, touches upon this. Algorithms depend on interactions with people, it is why so many companies use it. So things such as political extremes cause a lot of interactions. It is a slippery slope that can lead to radicalization of people, it can lead to hate, to great polarization. An algorithm can cause great good, ugly evil, and all in between.
Song Recomendations of the Week:
As I said at the beginning, I would like to dedicate this blog to Ka. I can not stress how beautiful his art is, and from what I have heard from the other rappers that knew him, he was no different as a person. He was a true independant artist at soul, a poet, a master, a unique rapper that will never be replicated. An inspiration to all, to me. He has left a serious mark on me that has become a hole since he died. But he will be remembered in every bar that lies eternal thanks to the power of music. I will thus recomend a few of my fav songs from Ka, I hope anyone will find the time to listen to these cause it is damn worth it.
Track: A Cure for the Common, by Preservation, featuring Ka.
Track: Beautiful, by Ka
Track: Such Devotion, by Ka
Track: Lord Have Mercy, by Ka
Track: Every Now and Then, by Ka
Track: Patron Saints, by Ka
Track: My Brother’s Keeper, by Ka
Track: I Love (Mimi, Mom, Kev), by Ka
Track: Mourn at Night, by Ka
Track: Atlas, by Hermit and the Recluse (duo consisting of Ka and LA producer Animoss)
Rest In Power to Ka, eternally grateful.
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