Mention rapper/producer Cadence's name within certain circles and the immediate response is "Native Tongue" influenced. That's not to say that Cadence doesn't possess his own sense of style or individuality as an artist, but upon first listening of a Cadence produced track, one can tell that he is more inspired by the likes of Posdanus and Trugoy than say 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks.

It's not so much apparent in his style--as Cadence's music hardly carries the same "afro-centric" overtones--and it's not so much in the lyrics department either, as his speech is not as nearly as abstract as the poems from the 'daisy age.' But the noticeable similarities of Cade's pronounced liberal views, wit based rhyme schemes, intellectually motivated concepts and soul-jazz sampled production, smartly compliment the low-key, self-consciously thoughtful music Jungle Brothers and De La Soul introduced so many years ago.

However, Cadence creative b-boy brilliance often gets over-looked, while The Little Brother's and The Slum Village's of the world get the nod for being the present day creative link to the Native Tongue past. Instead of being considered in the same "heir-to-the throne" breath, Cadence position is often resolved to being the redheaded step cousin.

But hey, in a Native Tongue world, its all love remember, and though he has enjoyed many years of underground acclaim as one-half of the group Raw Produce, the irritating feeling of heads sleepin' tends to make one restless. And though patience is considered a virtue, it is just might as well be a four-letter dirty word, as these days Cadence seems to be taking an aggressive stance (as far as getting material out to the masses) with the recent releases of the Raw Produce group effort "The Feeling Of Now," a solo venture "Cadence Poisonous the Minds Of The Children," and even a mix-tape "Built For The 90's."
No longer willing to wait for the hip-hop community at large to wake-up, Cadence yet again steps out of the lab with more golden-age allure on State Lines.

Inspired by the era, that no true hip-hopper can forget--Cadence not only manages to conjure up a collaboration with Mike G of the Jungle Brothers on the title track, 'State Lines', but he also manages to round-up a colorful menagerie of talented emcees, who in similar fashion drop knowledge and love all over the album. From the boastful assaults of Eddie Meeks on 'A.T.F.' to the rewind-worthy spit of CMNR on 'Perfectionist', State Lines offers a host of nostalgic appeal.

State Lines' timelessness is furthered on the standout 'Flow Chart'; where Cadence and partner Pitch obviously keep the best beats (a melodically layered construct with flutes, a Big Daddy Kane sample and billowy strings) for themselves. Sev Statik's 'The Sky Is Falling' playfully warns chicken-littles worldwide that there's more to fear in the Universe than gravity. While emcee on the come-up, Quite Nyce chooses to use his time, showcasing his "mesmerizing" flow on 'Patience And Persistence'. The always hard-core, and generally very animated Binkis Recs crew step thru with the gritty knuckle-slugger 'Hard', which is slightly outdone in rambunctious potency as 'Crash Thru' by O.U.O & Zimbabwe Legit borrows a tad from a Run-DMC classic.

Lyrically dynamic, as many of the emcees bring their distinctive styles and various "flavas" to the record, its a testament to time Cadence put into the project to make State Lines not sound like another run-of-the-mill compilation. Sure, there's some material on here that runs a bit uneven, bordering between good and mediocre, but for the most part its Cadence aural arsenal of beats provided that drive the record. Naysayers may nit-pick at the style Cadence chooses to mimic, but there are far worse styles that he could pay homage to. Hell, he could be emulating crunk?

---"The time for diplomacy is now" --Condoleezza Rice (22 months after the US attacked Iraq fearing the presence of WMD--6 days after the search for WMD in Iraq officially ended--with none found.)---

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