Who? CADET! CADET! This South London rapper has been rapping for years but it seems that in the last few years he has began to receive recognition for his hard work. The rise of Cadet started from the release of his warm up on SBTV early last year. Cadet’s delivery on this freestyle and his ability to portray the pain and frustration of an underrated rapper trying to gain recognition put him on my radar. A few months later Cadet broke the TL with his slut freestyle, admitting to his irresponsible attitude towards women with extreme levels of honesty. Through this freestyle Cadet was able to create a buzz. Following the ‘Slut Freestyle’ Cadet had been extremely consistent with releases with multiple freestyles and songs such as ‘Really Want (Feat. Afro B)’ and the ‘Stereotype Freestyle’. After supporting the likes of Krept & Konan and Bugzy Malone on tour it seemed the perfect time to release a full body of work and with the Commitment EP he has done just that.
With 7 tracks, two features and a cameo from Konan, this EP is the perfect length to be enjoyable but to leave you wanting more. There is also a lot of diversity on this EP from the heartfelt down to earth ‘Stereotype’ where Cadet takes a good look at himself and what he has failed to achieve and the negative stereotypes he enforces as a young black male living in London to the base heavy Young Thug-esque ‘No Way’ which includes an energetic Donaeo feature.
Admittedly I didn’t expect much from Cadet with this EP. After the Slut Freestyle and Stereotype Freestyle I was convinced that deep conscious raps were all that Cadet was capable of. I had seen him do other things such as the 30 second twitter freestyles and the Afro B song but I always had an issue with his delivery. But on this EP Cadet displays his versatility. There are songs for the critical listeners like ‘Stereotype’ or ‘From The Road’, and there are songs for the hard-core rap fans like ‘Gipset Flow’ and even a party song in ‘No Way.’
A place where I feel upcoming UK rappers fall down is beat selection. Choosing the wrong beat can make or break a song. This is evident from the difference between the original ‘Facts’ by Kanye West and the ‘Charlie Heat Version’ on The Life of Pablo. However, on this EP the producers do an excellent job. From the haunting choir vocals on ‘The Commitment (Intro)’ to the soulful EP under the pitched vocal sample on ‘Stereotype’ the production is flawless. A special mention has to go to producer Wonda who produced most of the EP and Adotskitz who absolutely outdid himself on ‘Gipset Flow’ with an epic instrumental.
Lyrically Cadet is on point. His wordplay is incredible. His delivery is also great and while I often criticise Cadet for only being able to deliver hype and talk about pain, there’s nothing wrong with having weaknesses as an artist as long as you excel at your strengths. The only real criticism I have of this EP is the chorus on ‘From The Roads’, which I feel added nothing to the EP. Whilst I loved the tone of Tis Rome’s voice I just feel that it did not match the hook but I have definitely been incentivised to look out for any music he releases in future.
Cadet definitely deserves recognition for this EP and I look forward to finding out what 2016 will have in store for him… a MOBO maybe?
Joshua Ogunmokun
Josh is currently listening to ‘Shongo Freestyle’ By Sarche
