10 Most Underrated Hip-Hop Albums Of All Time

10. Ka - Honor Killed The Samurai

Merging hip-hop and Asian culture is nothing new, but few have done it so sincerely and yet so effectively as Ka on his conceptual 2016 LP Honor Killed The Samurai. A stripped back and focussed release in the age of bloated mixtapes, it’s a fantastic showpiece for the rapper and producer, for whom this is a real auteur effort.

Honor Killed The Samurai paints the picture of a young man on the mean streets who tries to live his life according to a code. The tracks are minimalist and often sinister, with the hypnotic, sparse keys on “Mourn At Night” as close as Ka comes to giving us a catchy hook. His delivery is withdrawn but mesmeric, his reserved vocals insisting the listener comes in closer.

He’s good for a quotable, too, with opener “Conflicted” recalling how he learned the lesson to “be a body or catch one”. The track bristles with almost atonal, Asian-influenced sounds and a rumbling, percussive bassline that burrows in deep.

This is a knowingly atypical rap album with a fleshed out central protagonist. Even the clips of samurai philosophy actually work here - a rare skit that actually adds to the production.