Much like everybody else, we were saddened to hear about the death of Cadet last weekend, killed in a car crash on the way to doing what he loved. Due to perform at Keele University in the West Midlands, Cadet sadly never made it. Here at TRENCH, we thought it would be fitting to compile a list of the thing that made many of us fall in love with him in the first place—his freestyling ability. From that legendary Link Up TV barring session to his early days in Gipset, these freestyles show us exactly who the man and the artist was: a talented soul with a big ol’ heart.

Instagram Girls

The full version of this freestyle featured Konan and was also on Cadet’s The Commitment 2 project. But before that EP arrived, Cadet treated fans to a raw version of the track without the hook, taking an in-depth look at the behaviour of women on Instagram who act prestige due to the amount of followers they have while also making a wider observation about dating in general in the age of social media.

WhoWhatWhere

The WhoWhatWhere freestyle was eventually turned into the track “Corn”, but it highlights Cadet’s playful energy and his ability to laugh at himself—something that helped make him a favourite within the rap community. Not to mention it took place in his car, which he became famous for writing most of his bars in.

Uber Everywhere

Cadet became known for rapping about current trends, which getting an Uber everywhere definitely was at the time (and, for some, still is). This freestyle showed Cadet at his best, doing the milly rock, spitting bars about being focused, moving to girls, messing around with Yung Filly and spraying his battle cry at the top of his lungs: CADET! CADET!

Rapping Mother F

Featuring a more understated Cadet, flexing his lyrical muscles over a laid-back beat, here he explains his journey in rap—from how he used to approach it during his Gipset days to his outlook on rap during the time of filming—shouting out Giggs, Chip, MoStack and others in the process, showing nothing but love to his brothers-in-rhyme.

Behind Barz

Easily one of the best Behind Barz ever, Cadet broke down his journey with religion but also told the story of his father and their relationship with an honesty and openness rarely seen in the scene. Many people could relate, on some level, to what Cadet was saying and the finesse and skill with which he told the story only made his words hit that much harder.

Are U Nutz?

Nothing but unrelenting fury over a grime instrumental, this was Cadet in his element. A mixture of the clever punchlines that he became famed for, along with the aggression that was a staple in his earlier years, this is probably one of the underrated legend’s most underrated freestyles.

Gipset Freestyle

A young Cadet rapping crud to the camera with bars about GTA, and a unrefined flow packed with evident talent: this was Cadet during his Gipset days, having fun and still very nice with the punchlines. This freestyle was an early look at the rising star before he put serious work into his craft.

Slut

If you knew of Cadet then this freestyle needs no introduction, but if you didn’t know of Cadet before last weekend’s tragic news, then this freestyle should be high on your priority of freestyles to check out. Honest, hard-hitting and self-reflective, this bar-off went a long way to putting Cadet in the hearts and minds of many and, for a lot of people, put him in the conversation as one of the best storytellers in the country.

Warm Up Sessions

This was one of the first freestyles Cadet did on his return to music, and was perhaps what spurred him to become more conscious in his bars as he rapped about a phone call he had with Jamal Edwards, saying, “I wanna know how it feels when you’re in your worst place / Don’t want to hear about a weapon and a burst face / I wanna know why you wanna burst it in the first place,” which went on to become many people’s first introduction to the emcee.

Christmas Freestyle

This was one of the last freestyles we were able to see from Cadet before his untimely passing. But what makes it so special was that it captured everything we loved about him: his infectious energy and his relationship with his cousin, Krept. Even on Christmas Day, the two couldn’t help but banter each other, making thousands laugh in the process.

SBTV: BARS

Starting off with a clip from a 2008 freestyle, this shelly session shows the progression Cadet made in two years—and while he still talks as reckless as he would’ve back then, we still manage to see a lot of the qualities in terms of style and ability that he later refined and used to make him the artist we all grew to love.