POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE WINNER CADENCE WEAPON RELEASES PARALLEL WORLD (DELUXE EDITION) TODAY VIA MNRK MUSIC GROUP
POLARIS MUSIC PRIZE WINNER CADENCE WEAPON RELEASES PARALLEL WORLD (DELUXE EDITION)
TODAY VIA MNRK MUSIC GROUP
COLLABORATIONS WITH LOGAN, LORAINE JAMES, CIEL, MARTYN BOOTYSPOON, CFCF, AND HARRISON CREATE
NEW VERSIONS OF TRACKS FROM 2021 POLARIS MUSIC
PRIZE-WINNING ALBUM PARALLEL WORLD
DEBUT MEMOIR BEDROOM RAPPER OUT MAY 31
NEW NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES ANNOUNCED
SUPPORTING JULY TALK IN CALGARY & EDMONTON NEXT MONTH
“I was searching for producers who I feel like are really groundbreaking and pushing barriers. That’s the thing I’m always attracted to musically,” Cadence says of Parallel World (Deluxe Edition). “My initial thought was, ‘How can I help give a bigger platform to these artists who I know personally, but who are some of the most innovative artists in Canada?’”
Last month, trailblazing London, UK producer, Loraine James, delivered a fresh take on album standout, On Me (featuring Manga Saint Hilare & Strict Face). Listen to On Me (Loraine James Remix) and watch the Scott Pilgrim-directed visualizer here. The original version of the song arrived last summer with a cross-the-pond video including Manga Saint Hilare in the frame. Watch it here.
In addition to speaking truths on topics, such as those highlighted in On Me, Cadence is an active advocate in many communities; both in the arts and in the cities he calls home. He recently announced his debut memoir, Bedroom Rapper, set for release May 31 (McClelland & Stewart). For more writing and observations, check out his Substack newsletter.
Parallel World (Deluxe Edition) is an eclectic blend of offerings that pulls Cadence Weapon's music into new, curious shapes and continues the conversation that he started with Parallel World. There’s a Chicago acid house-inspired reprise from Martyn Bootyspoon (Montreal), a surreally off-kilter 'Renoviction Refix' from Ciel (Toronto), an optimistically dystopian track from CFCF (Montreal), and left-field funk from Harrison (Toronto). As a nod to his affinity for UK grime and club culture, as well as his desire to showcase Black talent across the diaspora, Pemberton also enlisted the two London up-and-comers, grime MC Logan and experimental club producer, Loraine James.
Parallel World has been heralded has Cadence’s most politically charged album to date. The songs are what Cadence quips Truth in Jest to narrate realities of the world at present and touch on themes of systemic racism, structural inequality, police profiling, gentrification, the internet’s pervasive effects on our lives and the surveillance state that disproportionately punishes Black people. Using elements of trap, drill, grime and acid house, Parallel World is the soundtrack for the dystopian future the world is facing, as society deals with these issues. It is a sonic space where Cadence distills these experiences for all.
Cadence performed his first show of the year in his home province at Alberta for Block Heater Festival in Calgary, before rocking SXSW's epic in-person return with three shows in Austin, Texas last week. Next month, he'll hit Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City, before supporting July Talk on west coast dates in Calgary and Edmonton, with a stop at Regina Folk Festival in August. More dates will be announced.
Listen to the original version Parallel World here, learn more about Cadence Weapon and find details on his North American tour dates below.
TOUR DATES:
April 8 - Mission Creek Festival in Iowa City
April 28 - Grey Eagle Resort and Casino in Calgary (with July Talk)
April 30 - Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton (with July Talk)
August 6 - Regina Folk Festival
DOWNLOAD – Hi Res Album Art
Read Cadence Weapon’s Newsletter
Follow Cadence Weapon on Twitch
Find Cadence Weapon’s music on Bandcamp
DOWNLOAD – Hi Res Press Photo (by Mat Dunlap)
Listen to Parallel World (Deluxe Edition) here
Buy Parallel World (Deluxe Edition) on Bandcamp
Listen to Parallel World here
About Cadence Weapon
Cadence Weapon is the Edmonton-born, Toronto-based rapper, producer, writer, poet, and activist Rollie Pemberton. Throughout his work, the multidisciplinary artist aims to preserve and resurrect Black cultural memory by forging connections between personal, local, and collective histories. Pemberton received the 2021 Polaris Music Prize for his fifth and latest album, Parallel World, an incisive project that uncovers the splintering realities both created and hidden by modern systems of inequality, atop blistering production that draws from UK grime, trap, and acid house.
Raised by a pioneering New York radio DJ father and piano playing mother, Pemberton started rapping at age 13. He cut his teeth performing live with his uncle’s funk band as a teen, but as one of the only rappers in Edmonton, he found endless outlets for his creativity on the internet, where there were no limits on discovering music. Pemberton thrived online finding samples, remixing songs, and battling rap strangers on message boards. As a university student, Pemberton penned alternative hip-hop reviews while crafting his debut album, 2005’s Breaking Kayfabe, the first of five albums that have been nominated for the Polaris Prize.
A scholar and entertainer with many hats, Pemberton has also done narration work for VICELAND TV shows, hosted lectures for Red Bull Music Academy, conducted live interviews for CBC, and acted in Sean Nicholas Savage’s debut musical, Please Thrill Me. In 2020, he launched his ongoing self-titled newsletter, where he shares personal essays about being an artist, essays of music and cultural criticism, and behind-the-scenes posts into his work and creative process. Pemberton’s debut book, Bedroom Rapper, a personal account of his life in music as an artist, critic, and fan amid a changing digital landscape, arrives later this year (McClelland & Stewart).
About MNRK Music Group
MNRK Music Group is one of the largest independent music companies in the world, with recording, music publishing and management divisions operating in every major music market. MNRK is committed to discovering and guiding leading music creators and talent, and is home to numerous top tier artists, the iconic Death Row Records and the music publishing catalog of Chuck Berry, plus premier music companies Dualtone Music Group and Last Gang. Its catalog across divisions consists of 54,000 music tracks, including multiple GRAMMY winners and platinum selling hits. To learn more visit www.mnrk.com.