The Night's Gambit

KA - The Night's Gambit
Critic Score
Based on 8 reviews
2013 Ratings: #77 / 1115
User Score
Based on 272 ratings
2013 Rank: #99
Liked by 23 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
FACT Magazine

Hurt but all the wiser for it, Ka uses the conceit of chess to tie together this document of his journey from hard-as-nails thug to saved rapper.

90
SPIN

The Night's Gambit is the best example yet of Ka's take-it-or-leave-it rap-auteurist style. Content-wise, it's hindsight-fraught, regret-filled hip-hop from a man, now in his early forties, who better understands his past transgressions now, even if he doesn't feel any better about them.

80
Pitchfork

The Brooklyn rapper's thoughts scan well on paper, then unspool in a delivery that lets the internal rhyme structure provide the emotional emphasis.

MAN
64

THIS is my favourite Ka record!

Ander_1
87

I said it before, but Ka is one of the most unique artist in the whole hip-hop genre. He’s the best at doing what he does.

The Night’s Gambit is one of his best albums, but the thing is that Ka doesn’t have no bad album so every album of his could be considered his best.

As always, in this album we listen to an introspective, vulnerable and teaching Ka. Full of bars over beautiful and dark instrumentals

Favorite songs: Jungle, Nothing Is, Soap Box, Knighthood, 30 Pieces of ... read more

LZGray
80

Ka is one of the greatest lyricists of our modern age. The way he tells his stories with creative metaphors and references is nothing short of brilliant, and his vast knowledge of culture, religion, music, and history is on full display through his witty double entendres. Every word is carefully placed to detail the struggles of growing up in the streets, having watched and made sacrifices just to survive, even when the odds are stacked against black. The careful precision in the storytelling ... read more

buckfastbjork
80

So many quotables, Ka is the most underappreciated artist in hip-hop

FunkyBlood9696
80

While not a supremely exciting listen, Ka's 3rd project "The Night's Gambit" features tons of food for thought rhymes, strange, yet captivating rapping style and use of samples, somewhat obscured but great production, as well as a smooth yet gritty vibe flowing throught
Not really game changing for the time it was released, but a really solid listen overall
Light 8 outta 10 for me for sure

Goazyea
NR

Not quite as good as some of his other work like Descendants of Cain, Honor Killed the Samurai, Orpheus vs the Sirens, Languish Arts/Woeful Studies but still a good album. Standouts are jungle, soap box, 30 pieces of silver, and knighthood.

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Contributions By
patton, thisisabtlgrnd, philthy, domvic
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Track List

1You Know It's About
3:33
90
2Our Father
3:13
88
3Jungle
3:47
89
4Barring the Likeness
3:26
81
5Nothing Is
2:41
82
6Soap Box
3:37
79
7Peace Akhi
4:04
88
8Knighthood
3:20
85
930 Pieces of Silver
3:30
86
10I'm Ready
3:52
85
11Off the Record
4:00
90
Total Length: 39 minutes
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Added on: July 26, 2013