Cadence Weapon — Afterparty Babies

When Rollie Pemberton said last year that Afterparty Babies would be a "party record," he wasn't selling it short. Cadence Weapon's sophomore effort is a DJ night you can play in your ears. After the bittersweet opener, "Do I Miss My Friends," the LP immediately kicks into high gear with "In Search Of The Youth Crew," a frenetic banger that's a precursor for some of the album's best tracks. "Limited Edition OJ Slammer" is an old school video game-sampling track about the public's obsession with gossip, where Pemberton hilariously boasts "Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise was my idea." Lyrically, he's a little sharper on album number two, with a personal highlight coming in on the opener "My current girl's a stewardess, but she ain't fly." The retro samples that drive "Real Estate" and gem "Getting Dumb" give the record a familiar feeling, but its subject matter and Pemberton's complex beat assembly make it sound fresh, rather than a retread. On Breaking Kayfabe, Cadence Weapon announced himself as one of the country's most promising rappers. On Afterparty Babies, he's a force to be reckoned with.