When you make the claim of being the Native American 2Pac you have some pretty big shoes to fill. So don't be surprised if some not only question your claim, but also disagree. It happens all the time.
Komplex Kai hails from Washington State, or as he refers to it in a number he wrote called On The Map, "...the top left state..." a tune off his latest album, Do Right. Being a part of the Tulalip tribe and one who's spent his life living on a reservation he, like Tupac, draws upon his own hardscrabble experiences as a source for his songs. Thus here the connection begins.
Whereas Shakur was a participant in the sometimes violent East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry, Komplex Kai prefers to participate in bringing, as he calls it, "West Coast beats together with East Coast style lyrics." The end result of melding and overlapping the distinct directions of this music is an original mix which few have even attempted or ultimately done so well. Everyone knows that some things go together while some things do not. It's the work of a true artist to load the trays of the scales just right so that an appropriate balance is achieved by the blend they carry.
A great example of those aforementioned East Coast flavored lyrics are those that Kai composed for the title track of Do Right. "But my mistakes, those are my mistakes that you can't take/How much weight on my damn shoulders till a man breaks/My million dollar dream intercepted like the cam quake/I probably already owe my first million to the damn state/Who don't even know my name just my case number/Tulalip and proud but that's the cloud that we placed under/That's the identity that they take from ya/Can't catch a break when you're broke while they're breaking ya".
As for the beats and breaks he appears to cherry-pick them the way a sommelier selects a fine wine for a feast. Matching vintage samples with current tonal trends affords this mix-master a widely hued palette to paint his soundscapes with. On numbers like Warning, Komplex Kai draws upon more recognizable R&B infused analog bits and pieces while with Electro House he forges ahead in a more contemporary and innovative digital direction. On the former of the two tracks he brings to the table an effort that is evidently intended to feed our heads, while on the latter and more danceable cut, the intention is to nourish our bodies. Either way it's a delightfully fulfilling audio experience.
Of the six songs that make up Do Right only with In My Veins did I walk away from the turntable feeling less than highly satisfied? I have to wonder if it was something he wrote earlier on, before truly finding his artistic voice, or if it was just an afterthought that was tossed together on the compilation as a filler. It's not that it's bad, it just simply fails to attain the height he reaches on the other titles contained within his current collection.
So, is the claim Komplex Kai's makes of being the Native American people's version of Tupac Shakur totally legit and keeping it a hundred? I'll leave that for all of you to decide by going to where you can take a listen: facebook.com/KomplexKai Later...
