Bronx rapper Kemba opened his self-released 2016 album Negus with a plea: “Don't call it political / Please don't deem this lyrical / These are negro spirituals.” Kemba, who’d previously recorded and performed under the name YC the Cynic, understands how easily his patient, contemplative songs can be pigeonholed as “conscious hip-hop,” but anyone who’d expect Kemba to regurgitate east coast boom-bap and a selection of preapproved lyrical subjects would be missing the full power of his music. Since Negus, he’s released just a few singles, including this year’s raw, striking “Deadass,” which merges jazz and funk via a limber upright-bass melody.…
Bronx rapper Kemba opened his self-released 2016 album Negus with a plea: “Don't call it political / Please don't deem this lyrical / These are negro spirituals.” Kemba, who’d previously recorded and performed under the name YC the Cynic, understands how easily his patient, contemplative songs can be pigeonholed as “conscious hip-hop,” but anyone who’d expect Kemba to regurgitate east coast boom-bap and a selection of preapproved lyrical subjects would be missing the full power of his music. Since Negus, he’s released just a few singles, including this year’s raw, striking “Deadass,” which merges jazz and funk via a limber upright-bass melody.…