Blaine Johnson

Blaine Cameron Johnson (2 March 1990 – 9 February 2019), known professionally as Cadet, was a British rapper, songwriter and record producer.

The younger cousin of Krept, Johnson began pursuing a solo career as a rapper in 2011, releasing a number of freestyles through YouTube outlets such as OSM Vision and Link Up TV. His debut project, The Commitment, was released in 2016, followed by The Commitment 2 the following year. He is perhaps best known for his single "Advice" featuring Deno, which peaked at number 14 on the UK Top 40.

Johnson was killed in a car accident while travelling to a gig in Betley, Staffordshire on 9 February 2019.

Gipset (2006–2009)

Cadet first became known for his association with Krept and Konan's Gipset crew in 2006, frequently appearing in music videos for the group's freestyles. Cadet released his first commercial mixtape, Are You Ready, on 4 April 2008. The Gipset crew garnered a considerable following across social media toward the end of 2010 through their freestyles about gang life and London living. Gipset broke up in 2013 after Krept and Konan signed their major label deal, and all other members focused on their solo careers.

Solo career beginnings (2010–2015)

Cadet began pursuing a solo career in 2010. He was featured on the single Dungeon Dragons by Stormzy in 2011 and collaborated with the rapper again in 2012 on the single GrimeWork. Cadet released a series of bars for SBTV throughout his years, including a Warm up session released in 2015.

He released his first freestyle, "Slut", via OSM Vision in July 2015. The song was popular, and had received over 3.1 million views as of February 2019. The following month, Cadet was selected by Link Up TV to appear on their Behind Barz freestyle series, and his freestyle was uploaded to YouTube on 17 August 2015, receiving 2.3 million views as of February 2019. The freestyle attracted praise from American media outlet Complex, who called it "storytelling at its finest" and "better than some rappers' whole mixtape".

Cadet's debut EP, The Commitment, was released in 2016. The EP has features from Donae'o, Konan and Tis Rome. It was the first commercial release by the rapper. Cadet received considerable recognition after releasing "Letter to Krept" in 2016. In "Letter to Krept", Cadet reaches out to communicate with his cousin Krept about a misunderstanding between the pair. Cadet explains their story together, describing the principal events which lead to the distance between them at the point of this song's release. Krept consequently released "Letter to Cadet" to share his side of the story. The single "Corn" featuring Big Tobz was released in December 2016.

The Commitment 2 (2017–2019)

Cadet released his sophomore EP The Commitment 2, a sequel to his first release, in 2017. The EP featured guest appearances from Konan and Ghetts, as well as vocals from Shakka. In the same year, he released the singles Southside featuring Geko, and What's Good featuring Loski.

He released the single Closure, a part 2 to his "Slut Freestyle" in April 2018 to much success which gained international attention. On 29 August 2018, Cadet released the single "Advice" featuring Deno. Cadet was featured on the remix of Rudimental's single Toast to Our Differences alongside Jaykae and Shungudzo which was released on 12 June 2018. It was his first charting single, initially peaking at number 27 on the UK Top 40, and receiving over 18 million views on YouTube as of February 2019. The song was initially a freestyle which took place in Cadet's car before it was released as a single. His second charting single, "Pumpy", was released on 26 October 2018. The single was produced by Da Beatfreakz and had vocals from Swarmz and AJ & Deno. "Trendy" featuring Ay Em and Tion Wayne was released in December 2018. This would be the last single released during his lifetime.

After consulting his family, Cadet's second Daily Duppy freestyle was released on GRM Daily on 22 April 2019 posthumously. On 29 August 2019, Cadets' single Gang Gang was also released posthumously. It was released via GRM Daily and highlights the prejudices black men face from being wrongfully targeted by the police and was sparked by an incident Cadet himself faced from the police. The single peaked at 82 on the Official UK Charts.

Johnson was the cousin of fellow rapper Krept, and the two spent much of their childhood growing up together. Johnson converted to Islam at the age of 15 and mentioned his faith numerous times in his music.

On 9 February 2019, Johnson and three friends were en route to a gig at Keele University in Staffordshire when their Toyota Prius taxicab collided with a Vauxhall Combo in Betley, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) from the venue. Johnson was pronounced dead at the scene, while his friends and the drivers of both vehicles were treated for injuries. On 1 November 2019, 23 year old Jordan Birch was charged with killing Cadet by dangerous driving. Krept reported that Birch was under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into the Uber that Cadet was in. He was also charged with seriously injuring Cadets driver Kashif Usman. In December 2019, Birch pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury by dangerous driving at a plea and hearing at Stoke-on-Trent court. His sentence hearing is due to take place in January 2020.

Many of Johnson's contemporaries took to social media to pay tribute. Krept said he was "devastated and broken", and announced that a public tribute would take place the following day in Hyde Park, London. Deno released a tribute for Cadet titled "First Days" on 13 February 2019. Krept paid tribute to Cadet by releasing Last Letter to Cadet on 27 February 2019. The track also featured a verse from Konan.

Extended plays

• The Commitment (2016)
• The Commitment 2 (2017)

Singles

• "Closure" (2018)
• "Advice"(2018) – UK No. 14
• "Pumpy"(2018) – UK No. 70
• "Trendy"(2018)
• "Gang Gang" (2019) – UK No. 82

Tributes

• "First Days"(2019)
• "Last Letter to Cadet"(2019)
• "Letter to Cadet"(2019)
• "It'll Kill You"(2019)
• "Tribute to Cadet"(2019)