Ka, an independent Brooklyn rapper and longtime city firefighter, has died. He was 52. The musician, born Kaseem Ryan, “died unexpectedly” Saturday in New York, according to a statement posted on his official Instagram. The post added Ka was born in Brownsville in 1972 and “lived a life of service — to his city, to his community, and to his music.” “We kindly ask that the privacy of Ka’s family and loved ones be respected as they grieve this incalculable loss,” the statement reads. Ka spent 20 years with the FDNY as one of the first responders to the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and rising to the rank of captain at Engine Co. 235 station in Bedford-Stuyvesant. “As a 20-year veteran of the New York City Fire Department, he put his life on the line to protect his fellow citizens,” the statement says. The stability of the FDNY gave him the cushion to pursue music. “I have a full-time job, and I work all the time,” he told Complex in 2013. “I try to keep that kinda low. I just have a job. It ain’t my calling or nothing. It’s just my job. But I love my job because it gives me the freedom to do the art. I feel like if I didn’t have a job, that’s when I would have to compromise myself a little bit more.” As a fiercely independent artist, he released several records, including “The Thief Next to Jesus” in August. He was a member of the groups Natural Elements and Nightbreed in the 1990s but left both. After roughly a decade away from music, he appeared on GZA’s 2008 album “Pro Tools” before releasing his first solo record, “Iron Works,” on his own label, also dubbed Iron Works, that same year. He self-released — and self-shipped — several more solo records, notably “Grief Pedigree and The Night’s Gambit,” before his final record over the summer. He was also a frequent collaborator with producer Animoss (as Hermit and the Recluse) and with producer Preservation as Dr. Yen Lo. “I always called him a living PROPHET because thats what he was to us,” producer/rapper Alchemist wrote on X. “The truest man and artist i have ever been lucky enough to cross paths with. There is so much i want to say. It was an honor to call you a friend and comrade.” Ka is survived by his wife, mother and sister.