Cadet Drafts A ‘Letter To Krept’
In the rap world where hyper-masculinity can limit some artists, South London rapper Cadet wears his heart on his sleeve and spills his feelings in an long uninterrupted verse dedicated to his cousin.
There’s a lot of bars that are dedicated to the mandem. More times than not they’re usually along the lines of ‘If you mess with them, you mess with me’ and based around fear and aggression. In ‘Letter To Krept’, Cadet makes a point to let his vulnerability show with brutal honesty. During the countdown to the videos release, everyone was waiting with baited breath. Even his cousin, Krept, the other half of the UK’s high flying rap group, wasn’t privy to the lyrics. At midnight on the 31st August, we all tuned in and listened.
Cadet has been rapping on the underground scene for several years but has seen more success since he started releasing tracks which run as a long stream of consciousness digging into his inner thoughts. Normal song structures were thrown to the wind in ‘Letter To Krept’ as he drew from an emotional place to demonstrate how his feelings shifted towards someone that he’d grown up with. Taking the listener on a journey through his insecurities, using lyrics to provide an introspective view on his mindstate during key moments of his life, Cadet tells a story of self discovery through inspiration. Being close to Krept enabled him to have an inside view off what life could be like if he’d focused and made changes in his life to follow his dreams.
I’m happy that you’re doing your ting. But it’s a reminder of all the shit I don’t do
Kanye West once said “People never get the flowers while they can still smell them”. Men tend to fall short of this and fail to let their guard down to allow themselves to show emotion to their friends and fam. We think that they must know already so there’s no need to say it. When in fact, expressing yourself to someone that you care about can be uplifting and result in a stronger bond. Cadet is a great example of this way of thought, by using his music to show the world his appreciation of a relationship with his cousin that’s helped shape his life for the better.
It’s evident that much has gone into this release, the production sets the right mood musically providing layers to the different sections of focus. The video is shot and graded with the intention to pull you in and demand your attention. At the same time, scenes of tranquility allow you to just attentively listen to what Cadet has to say.
Listening to this song, Krept tweeted he couldn’t sleep without recording a response, and it seems that ‘Letter To Krept’ is the gift that keeps on giving – expect to hear a ‘Letter To Cadet’ anytime soon.
