‘A True Teacher’: Do we know rapper Ka’s cause of death?

According to an Instagram statement from his wife, film producer Mimi Valdés, Ka died unexpectedly on Oct. 12 at the age of 52. Ka — an underground New York City rapper whose legal name was Kaseem Ryan — was also a 20-year New York City Fire Department veteran. Valdés did not reveal her husband’s cause of death.

Valdés shared the news of Ka’s death on the musician’s official Instagram page and also mentioned her husband’s death on her account. Valdés wrote, “My king, my hero, my best friend. You will always be my everything because love like ours lasts forever. Rest my beautiful husband, see you on the other side.” Valdés provided no official cause of death in that update, either.

Ka, a Brooklyn native, began his career in the mid-1990s with the rap group Natural Elements, and he released his first solo album, Iron Works, in 2007. From there, he built a successful and critically acclaimed independent music career with an ardent following while serving as a New York City Fire Department captain. He was a 9/11 first responder, Valdés, Ka’s wife, wrote on Instagram. Ka retired from the NYFD in 2019.

Ka’s last album came out in August

Ka’s last album, The Thief Next to Jesus, came out about two months before he died. Like some of Ka’s later works, the music had religious themes. In his career, Ka collaborated with GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan on GZA’s Pro Tools album from 2008, and in 2012, Ka worked with producer Roc Marciano. Ka’s dual identity as a rapper and firefighter caused tension. In 2017, he told The New York Times, “I never wanted to be ‘The Rapping Captain.’ I try to be a good firefighter. And when I come home, I try to make some dope music.”

Some of Ka’s music also criticized police brutality, which, as a New York firefighter, some NYPD officers felt was inappropriate, the New York Post reported in 2016. “The biases he portrays through his music are indicative of what he believes or feels,” Sergeants Benevolent Association president Ed Mullins said at the time. “As a New York City firefighter, he should be trying to bring people together rather than fracture relationships, especially in communities of color,” Mullins added.

Referring to his music and firefighting career, Ka told Passionweiss in 2015, “I’m trying to be who I am in the day and then trying to feed my soul at night with being the artist that I want to be. I want to respect the culture and give back what it gave to me. The reason I’m alive right now is because of hip-hop.”

“The greatest artist, lyricist, and poet of all time”

On social media, news of Ka’s sudden death brought on an outpouring of grief from his fans. One X comment called Ka, ” … a true Teacher. Poet. Fire Chief. Producer. Rapper. Artist. A Legend with every meaning of the word.” Referring to Ka, hip-hop producer, The Alchemist wrote in part on X, “I always called him a living PROPHET because thats what he was to us. Me and Roc always said when KA rapped it was like he was delivering his words from the top of a mountain off a stone tablet. The truest man and artist i have ever been lucky enough to cross paths with.”

Reportedly, Ka is survived by his wife, Mimi Valdés, his mother, and his sister. Multiple reports said they reached out to the New York Fire Department for comment about Ka’s death, but had not heard back.