Don your Nike’s and classic NBA jerseys, hip hop buffs: Canadian writer/rapper/producer Cadence Weapon brings his clever, conversational rhymes and huge synth-driven beats from the frozen north to the snowy northeast alongside fellow Canadians Born Ruffians for tomorrow night’s Iron Horse co-bill. Cadence Weapon, stage name of former Stylus and Pitchfork Media writer Rollie Pemberton, is a 22-year old, critically-acclaimed, self-produced MC from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. A natural-born emcee, Pemberton has been rapping since the age of 13. At age 19, after abandoning his journalism career for one in music, he released his underground mix tape “Cadence Weapon is the Black Hand” in 2005. The record included remixes of the Beastie Boys, M.I.A., Death From Above 1979 and even a sample of Falco’s 1986 smash “Rock Me Amadeus,” receiving overall positive press. On Nov. 28 of the same year, he released his first proper LP, “Breaking Kayfabe,” on Upper Class Recordings in Canada, which included selections from the aforementioned mix tape. The record stood out from 2005’s mainstream hip hop due to the clear, conversational delivery and larger than life synth tones. Music review Web site Coke Machine Glow calls “Breaking Kayfabe” an “impossibly accomplished hip hop album,” defined by a “dense, paranoid party of seedy beats and shocking cohesion.” Since its release, mainstream hip hop has moved in Cadence’s synth-driven direction, though few emcees create such thick atmospherics and couple them up with such memorable hooks. His lyricism is constantly interesting as he recalls detail after detail of his hometown on “Breaking Kayfabe” opener, “Oliver Square.” He drops references to drugs, bars and shoes, evidence of his young male status, yet he comes off seasoned, witty and intelligent. The record earned Cadence a nomination for the first Polaris Music Prize, an award of $20,000 for the Canadian album of the year, though he was runner up to violinist Owen Pallett’s Final Fantasy outlet. No hard feelings were felt, and the odd couple even showed interest in each others’ work, prompting Cadence to join Pallett on some of his 2007 tour. Most recently, a couple songs from Cadence Weapon’s new record “Afterparty Babies” have been made available through his Myspace page, including the MP3 download of “In Search of the Youth Crew” and the digital single “House Music” The latter possesses an aggressive, club-ready squall of synth squelches and high-frequency scratches, in which Cadence calmly boasts “the club scene loves me,” and includes a humorous DJ horror story at the end of the track. His 2008 dates are in support of the March 4 drop of “Afterparty Babies,” released in the U.S. on Epitaph records. Tour mates Born Ruffians have a record out on March 4 as well, their first full-length album, titled “Red, Yellow ‘ Blue,” ready for release by Warp Records. The record includes tracks from their 2007 “Hummingbird” EP, including its raucous title track and “Kurt Vonnegut,” a likely tribute to the late, celebrated author. The EP also features an upbeat cover of “Knife,” by Grizzly Bear. Born Ruffians return to the Iron Horse less than five months after their stop in Northampton last October, opening for Caribou on their entire Canada/U.S. fall tour. The band energetically rocked through songs from their 2006 debut, a self-titled EP, as well as some new material for their short set, easily grabbing the attention of those who showed up before the main act. In addition to Caribou, Born Ruffians have toured with the likes of Peter Bjorn and John and Hot Chip. The guitar, bass and drums three-piece evokes a charming, young pop sound similar to less flamboyant Of Montreal and less electronic Tokyo Police Club, whom Born Ruffians joined for a few Canadian dates toward the end of this past January. The trio returns to Massachusetts, after about a week’s stint in Europe, to kick off their March trek across the States, which includes an appearance at the SXSW festival in Austin, TX. The all-ages show will begin at 10 p.m. General admission tickets are available for $9 through the Iron Horse’s Web site www.iheg.com, and are $11 at the door. Ian Nelson can be reached at [email protected].