Cadence Weapon

Breaking Kayfabe

[4/5] On the onyx globe of hip-hop, there’s old school, there’s new school, and then there’s Canada. Representing that conflicted spectrum is former Pitchfork scribe Rollie Pemberton, the "other brother" that Chuck D prophesized, who says bye-bye to the binary of bling vs. the real thing to hit ’em all up as Cadence Weapon. Articulate spitting goosed by a satchel of strip-club beats and glitch-hop programming, Pemberton’s not afraid to call "bullshit" on his paranoid and boastful self with the same venom that he holds for his friends and neighbors. Dense Bomb Squad v2.0 production and verses that twist and turn on themselves with humor and pathos may be too complicated a stance for American ears used to banalities, but while Cadence Weapon may not be BET material, his uncompromising and inspired debut is a strong bet nonetheless. (ANTI-) Erick Haight