Hermit and the Recluse

The duo of rapper Ka and producer Animoss release their densely lyrical, sonically complex blend of hip-hop under the moniker of Hermit and the Recluse. Their debut album, 2018's Orpheus vs. the Sirens, took a mythological approach to street-level rap, coloring Ka's desperation-riddled tales with parallels from ancient Greek folklore. Having built a production résumé among the New York revivalists of the late 2010s (including the likes of Roc Marciano, Westside Gunn, and Tha God Fahim), it was almost inevitable that producer Animoss would eventually cross paths with Brownsville rapper Ka. The pair were quick to set to work on their debut project, soon adopting the Hermit and the Recluse moniker to release Orpheus vs. the Sirens. Much like previous works The Night's Gambit and Honor Killed the Samurai, Brownsville's Ka adopted the perspective of another to reflect his own life, this time drawing from Ancient Greek mythology. Taking inspiration from Homeric tales of voyages and mythical creatures, Ka pulled ancient metaphors into his own world, narrating his money-strapped and brutal upbringing using fantastical imagery and narrative parallels. ~ David Crone