The Night's Gambit opens with a skit, which would normally blow, but it's one of those cases where the skit is attached to another song. Anyways, I actually kind of dig it's wu tang approach. It seems like some kind of teacher or master tells his student that it's time to regain his lost honor. The character that I can only assume represents KA simply responds by saying, "Yes, I understand". In a lot of ways, that represents everything he's about. KA is straight to the point, not garnering for attention, but still manages to be complex. It's like you don't even realize that he's fucking your whole shit up until you think about what he just said. The same can be said about the instrumental, as it infuses the textbook grimy sound with an undescribable atmospheric feel. The character takes a big step in recapturing his supposed lost honor.
Back to the previously mentioned Roc Marciano, he actually makes an appearance on here, as the two happen to be frequent collaborators. After hearing him rhyme next to KA, the conceded bastard that I am must say that I'm damn good at making comparisons. Anyways, Roc's smooth, razor sharp delivery cannot be mistaken as timidness. Instead, the both of them sound like a couple composed veterans that are projecting a great deal of confidence, rooted from their experience in the game. Still, I'd be lying if I said that KA's monotonous flow didn't get a little tiring at points. If he and Madlib decided to collaborate it could be confused as sonic chloroform. Actually, never mind that last statement. A project from those two would be must hear. The thing is, the album only hangs around for a mere eleven songs. KA works in plenty of material but makes sure to cut things off before you have a chance to get bored. Truly a genius move as he captures the listeners full attention like an excellent chess player capturing the opponents king. See KA, I can make chess references too!
Speaking of chess, the frequent references and skits give this album an undeniably cohesive feel. In truth, all you need to know about the album comes from the cover, which features a menacing king piece staring over a beautifully crafted chess board. The king represents KA's lyrical mastery, while even the aesthetics of the board show the spacey and atmospheric production. I don't know, maybe that's just me. I'm never one to read too much into thing but that stood out to me. Perhaps the single most impressive aspect of the whole album is the way he puts the skits to good use. Not completely useless, they act as the glue that holds the album together. They all have a purpose and convey KA's complex thought process into a simple skit that we can all understand. All that obviously works into the wordplay of the title. The Knight of course representing the constant chess themes, while the "night" spelling underlines the dark and spacey feel of the music.
More on that title, the word ''gambit'' isn't just thrown in there for shits and giggles. For those unfamiliar with chess, (hate to act like a know-it-all put school has forced me to play my fair share of the game) a gambit is a sacrificial piece, such as a throw away pawn. Well, that's a little metaphor for KA himself. While the character portrayed in the story is simply a gambit for the master to regain their lost honor, KA views himself as a sacrificial piece that's sole purpose is to save hip hop. Unfortunately, he will ultimately be viewed as a pawn of modern day music, ruled by the monopolized landscape of mainstream rap. KA sounds consistently confident, but can never shake the fact that he will never be able to succeed in his mission. Fortunately for anyone weird enough to stumble upon this album, his work should certainly do the trick as KA takes the classic feel of mid nineties hip hop and reinvents it in a fresh new way.
Uncharacteristically, it appears as though I've gone into some ultimate dick riding mode, as I've made some conclusions that I doubt even KA was thinking about at the time. Sorry guys, I'm just in a good mood and this album is excellent. Now that I've acknowledged that, I'm comfortable being my usual ass hole self. You all know what that means, it's time for a little criticism. I know that I've continuously praised it, but some of the dark feel gets really repetitive. Yes, it does add to the themes of the album, but I'd appreciate even the slightest hint of variation. That goes for the production and KA, who would really benefit from some animation and emotion. That's just me, though and I'll always want more variation, but the instrumentals give me enough for it to not be a huge issue. That's honestly all I've got right now, as the pros of the album far outweigh the cons.
So, yeah, you've got my full recommendation. It's not going to be for everyone, but I really encourage you to at least give it a shot. There's tons of wordplay and you're really going to study every single bar if you want the take away everything possible. That's the part that's inaccessible, but I enjoy that shit. I enjoy it so much that I'm giving the album a high four star rating. KA put his all into an album that he hoped would gain him a bigger fan base, while conveying a new style rap. All I can say is check mate.
Rating: 4/5