This album was released on August 18th this year. For those of you who’re unaware, Hermit & the Recluse are a duo consisting of Ka & Animoss. Ka actually dropped my personal album of the year back in 2016 with Honor Killed the Samurai. I’m really expecting this to be another incredible body of work. It may just end up being a contender for album of the year. The samurai theme of his previous album was fucking awesome, and this new greek mythology idea seems really cool too. I’m not that familiar with Animoss as a producer. I know he does a lot of work with Roc Marciano. I don’t wanna waste anymore time with this preamble. This shit is about to be dope af.
1. Sirens
Oh man… This production is fucking gorgeous. The first verse is fucking awesome. It’s riddled with references to different Greek myths. He mentions harpies, Cerberus, the three furies, the hydra, the chimera, the sphinx, minotaurs, cyclopses, medusa, and of course the sirens. The little melodic break between the first and second verses is awesome. I love the way Ka raps with no drums. Everything about this song is fantastic, including the animated music video. I have absolutely nothing to complain about with this song. It’s dope af.
2. Fate
This is another good song. The hook didn’t really do anything for me, but the verses were great. The beat isn’t as good as it was on the previous track, but it’s still pretty entertaining. This song actually features percussion. It’s really minimal though. I don’t have any gripes with this track. It’s not blowing me away like the first song did, but it’s still really dope. I fuck with it.
3. Orpheus
I’m not gonna pretend to like the incredibly dull singing at the beginning of this song. It’s not bad enough to ruin the track though. The production is awesome. The long verse is really great. This is the longest song on the album, but it doesn’t seem like it overstays its welcome. Again, there’s minimal percussion. All I could hear was a very soft bass kick loop. The hook is kind of weak, but aside from that this is another really good song. I fuck with this shit. It’s dope.
4. Atlas
This track actually has some very prominent drums. It’s still less than the average Hip Hop song though. The production kind of alters for the actual verses. This is a really fuckin’ cool song. It’s more uptempo than the previous track. There’s no hook, which might be for the best. The way he ended this song was awesome.
Weight of the world on my shoulders; I ain’t drop it yet
This is another really fantastic track. It’s not quite as good as the first song, but it’s better than the two previous tracks. This shit is dope af.
5. Argo
The production on this track is phenomenal. The verse is really fuckin’ awesome, and I even liked the sung outro. The structure of the song is really simplistic, but it’s super well done. There’s not a single aspect of this track that I disliked. This is one of the best tracks on the album so far. Honestly it’s on par with the first song in my opinion. This shit is dope af.
6. Golden Fleece
This beat is fucking awesome. Ka is fuckin’ snappin’ on this track too. I even like the hook. Fuck, man. This is another incredible song. It’s the shortest track on the album, but the quick runtime isn’t to its detriment. Just like with the previous song, there’s not a single aspect of this track that I disliked. I don’t even know what to say about it other than the fact that I think it’s dope af. I definitely fuck with this track.
7. The Punishment of Sisyphus
Once again, the production is absolutely stellar. It doesn’t sound like a traditional Hip Hop instrumental. It’s got more influence from Rock music I think. Just like with the other songs, the verse is fantastic. This is another structurally simplistic song. That’s not really an issue for me though. I don’t have any gripes. It’s not super incredible, but it’s still dope af to me. I fuck with this.
8. Hades featuring Citizen Cope
This is definitely one of my more anticipated songs just because of the feature. I haven’t heard that much music by Citizen Cope, but I love that song he has called Let the Drummer Kick. Anyway, this song has arguably the best beat on the album so far. The two verses are great, and the sung outro from Citizen Cope is awesome. This is yet another fantastic song. It’s definitely one of my favorites so far. This shit is dope af.
9. Oedipus
This beat is cool, but it’s not blowing me away like a lot of these other instrumentals. It’s a pretty upbeat sounding song. Again, the structure is very simplistic. It’s just one long verse. It’s really good though. He killed this shit. This definitely isn’t one of my favorites. It’s probably the weakest song on the album to be honest. I only say that because the production isn’t that hot to me. It’s certainly not bad though. I still really fuck with the song. This shit is dope.
10. Companion of Artemis
This beat is pretty solid. I like the drums Animoss used. This is a pretty short song. It’s really great though. The verse from Ka is awesome, and the outro about being the hunter or the prey was pretty cool too. I don’t really have much to say about this track to be honest. It’s just another great song. There’s really not much to discuss. I have no gripes with it. This is dope af.
This album is fucking awesome. Just as I predicted, Ka & Animoss put together one of the best albums I’ve heard all year. I’m in love with Ka’s unique style. I love hearing people rap without strong percussion because I just feel like it’s super uncommon. I don’t think this is quite as good as Honor Killed the Samurai, but it’s really fucking close. This is an amazing album. I’m super glad I gave this shit a chance. It’s a super digestible project too. It’s just over half an hour. It’s the perfect length. This shit is dope af.
Favorite Song: Argo
Least Favorite Song: Orpheus
A
Focus Hip Hop 