I think Cadence Weapon was the first band/artist I snagged for Hot Freaks! this year. I wanted to make sure we had some hip hop — and that the hip hop we had was some of the best out there. It was funny, since last year we ran into him on the street outside the IHEARTCOMIX party (the night it got busted by the cops). We talked to him a bit, but I hadn’t heard of him then. This year when we met up again at SXSW, I was ready.

MP3: Cadence Weapon – In Search of the Youth Crew

Or at least I thought I was ready. Cadence Weapon (real name Roland “Rollie” Pemberton) brought more energy to the stage than most guitar-rawk bands I saw that week. He jumped into the crowd two or three times to get everyone moving. I guess I’d spent a little too much time snapping photos and not enough time getting into the show, because after his second trip to the crowd, he grabbed me by my shoulders and said “You can have fun too!” It didn’t take much to convince me; I put down my camera for a bit and enjoyed one of hip hop’s rising stars.