Cadence Weapon Albums (2)
What The Critics Say
Freshly signed to the Anti- label, Edmonton rapper Cadence Weapon (or Rollie Pemberton) continues -- with his flat intonation and half-mocking confidence -- to help redefine the boundaries of modern hip-hop, something he began on his very excellent debut. But while Breaking Kayfabe was all heavy beats and grime, Afterparty Babies turns more to the fringes of house and tech-house, even going so far as to title a song "House Music." For the most part, these new production additions work well, although sometimes the inherent corniness of the club instruments pushes the rapper's already tongue-in-cheek lyrics (which are normally a strength of his songs) to near silliness. Not that Pemberton is trying to be serious; in fact, he's assuredly aware of how he comes off, but the synths in "Getting Dumb," for example, played under the slowly rhymed hook of "Where'd you go, I'm always here/Whatever you need, I'm always near/And I know you are losing touch/And I know you are getting dumb," are more tiresome than ironic or sardonic. Fortunately, these moments are in the minority, and the rest of Afterparty Babies flows with equal parts self-deprecation, wit, and insight. Cadence Weapon is the kind of MC who's able to present accessible rhymes that also, upon further listening, reveal themselves to be much more. On "Messages Matter," which has the most "standard" hip-hop beat on the entire album, he uses chopped-up soul samples and violins alongside his normal electronics, and comments on the state of the technology-driven social relationships and forms of communication that he sees replacing the human-to-human ones. "And people, they don't laugh anymore, they use acronyms to make their opinions known/This is why I might stay home for the next couple weeks, and retreat to my form of Beats, Rhymes and Life," he spits, only later to go on about girls he's met on the Internet. It's this ability to make fun of society through making fun of himself that makes Cadence Weapon so likable; he boasts and he swaggers but it's done with a sly smile and plenty of pop culture references, as if he knows you know everything he says has to be taken with a grain of salt. Afterparty Babies is hipster rap that isn't trying too hard to be hip (instead of bragging about living in Brooklyn, for example, he asks why all his friends have moved from Edmonton), smart hip-hop that isn't pretentious or condescending, genre-bending music that knows a good beat is universal, an album that accepts its imperfections as a part of its charm, and, all things considered, a pretty irresistible release. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Not known much for its hip-hop scene, or even its rock scene (unlike other Canadian cities Toronto and Montreal), Edmonton is where rapper Rollie Pemberton, aka Cadence Weapon, calls home. With a flow that sounds like something between Aesop Rock, Jay-Z, and Del, and that moves from conversational to quickly syncopated, Cadence Weapon makes his way through the 12 songs on his full-length debut, Breaking Kayfabe, with a consistency in skill and intelligence generally only found in veteran rappers' work. On "Lisa's Spider" he rhymes, over an Atari-based beat and crunchy bass, "I can't work day to day to live and starve, be in the lunch line/That's why my shows last longer than a Talib Kweli punch line/A rapper to the next bar like a Talib Kweli punch line/But I make no sense, like a Talib Kweli punch line," and even on "Diamond Cutter," about a prostitute, and probably the most predictable track (and thereby the most disappointing), he spits out "She has a steady man who loves what he hooks/But at work she's in a random house like she was publishing books." His songs are all little stories, descriptions of lives, often not his own, but that distance allows his personality to show as much as the more personal ones do. However, what might be most distinctive about Cadence Weapon is his beats -- grimy, pulsating rhythms that pan between left and right, jostling but also entrancing the listener, sometimes mixed louder than the vocals and sometimes soft and subtle. "Fathom" is almost factory-like, mimicking the sound of the assembly line as the MC complains about the state of the music industry and society, while "Sharks" is empty and gritty. It's still all very hip-hop, though, and even "Turning on Your Sign," which is the most indie rock-inspired, and could fit in easily with any anticon release, doesn't get overly experimental or turn too much into a downtempo vocal piece. Breaking Kayfabe is a cohesive set of songs, backpacker in the best of senses, smart and witty and provocative, experimental and well-produced, but at the same time very raw and very real-sounding. It's not often that a debut does all this correctly; listeners would be wise to pay attention. ~ Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
