Cadence Weapon facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cadence Weapon
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Roland Pemberton |
| Born | February 21, 1986 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Genres |
|
| Occupation(s) | |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Labels |
|
| Associated acts | Buck 65, Skratch Bastid, Noah23 |
Roland "Rollie" Pemberton, known by his stage name Cadence Weapon, is a Canadian-American rapper who lives in Toronto, Ontario. He was born and grew up in Edmonton, Alberta. Cadence Weapon released his first album, Breaking Kayfabe, in 2005, and it was very well-liked.
After that, he signed with the American record label ANTI-. He then released more albums like Afterparty Babies in 2008 and Hope in Dirt City in 2012. In 2009, Cadence Weapon was given the special title of Poet Laureate for Edmonton, which means he was an official poet for the city. His first book, Magnetic Days, came out in 2014. He also released a self-titled album called Cadence Weapon in 2018.
His fifth studio album, Parallel World, was released on April 30, 2021. This album won the 2021 Polaris Music Prize on September 27, 2021, which is a big award for Canadian music.
Contents
About Cadence Weapon
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Roland Pemberton was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta. Music was a big part of his family. His father, Teddy Pemberton, was a pioneering hip hop DJ on a radio station called CJSR-FM. His grandfather, Rollie Miles, was a famous football player for the Edmonton Eskimos.
Cadence Weapon started rapping when he was 13 years old. After high school, he briefly went to journalism school but soon left to focus on his music career. In 2005, he released a mixtape called Cadence Weapon Is the Black Hand. Later that year, his first full album, Breaking Kayfabe, came out.
Breaking Kayfabe and Early Success
Breaking Kayfabe received great reviews in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Cadence Weapon toured a lot to support the album. He played concerts across Canada and even performed at the 2006 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas.
Chart magazine named Cadence Weapon one of the top 15 Canadian artists to watch in 2006. Also, the website Metacritic, which collects reviews, listed Breaking Kayfabe as one of the best albums of 2006.
Cadence Weapon shared what inspired him to make music: "Music was always around me when I was growing up. My dad was a DJ and played all kinds of music like hip hop, electro, and funk. My mom also played piano. I just naturally got into rapping. I remember rapping in math class!" He also gets ideas from dance music, saying he likes artists like Basement Jaxx and Daft Punk. Besides his own music, he has also remixed songs for other artists and written music reviews.
Awards and Collaborations
Cadence Weapon was nominated for the 2006 Polaris Music Prize. This award gives $20,000 to the best Canadian album of the year. He was nominated for Breaking Kayfabe, but the award went to Owen Pallett's album. Interestingly, a newspaper cover showed Cadence and Pallett together, even though they were competing. The article explained that they were actually friends and admired each other's music. They even performed together on a radio show called Fuse.
Cadence Weapon has also been a guest performer on songs by other artists. He appeared on "Radar" by Super Extra Bonus Party and "Coming Home" by Shout Out Out Out Out.
In 2007, Cadence Weapon signed a record deal with ANTI-, a sublabel of Epitaph Records. This helped his music reach more people in the United States. Breaking Kayfabe was then released in the US. Later in 2007, Big Dada became his label in Europe. His second album, Afterparty Babies, was released in 2008.
Poet Laureate and Later Albums
On May 26, 2009, Cadence Weapon became Edmonton's Poet Laureate for two years. In this role, he was an ambassador for literary arts and created new poems for the city.
In 2011, he took part in the National Parks Project. He worked with other musicians and a filmmaker to create a short film about Alberta's Waterton Lakes National Park.
Cadence Weapon released his album Hope in Dirt City on May 29, 2012. This album was his third in a row to be nominated for the Polaris Music Prize. It was also his second album to make the short list for the award. Critics noted that while Drake might be Canada's most famous rapper, Cadence Weapon is one of the most creative.
In 2015, Cadence Weapon started a radio show called Allsorts on Toronto Independent Radio Station TRP.
His album Parallel World won the 2021 Polaris Music Prize. He said the album was like a "journalistic lens" and was inspired by watching the George Floyd protests in 2020.
In 2022, he published a memoir (a book about his own life) called Bedroom Rapper: Cadence Weapon on Hip Hop, Resistance and Surviving the Music Industry.
Life in Different Cities
Pemberton lived in Montreal for six years when he was in his twenties. During this time, he worked with artists like Blue Hawaii and Jacques Greene. In 2015, Pemberton moved to Toronto. This move inspired his 2018 song "High Rise," which talks about how neighborhoods change.
Music Releases
Studio Albums
- Breaking Kayfabe (2005)
- Afterparty Babies (2008)
- Hope in Dirt City (2012)
- Cadence Weapon (2018)
- Parallel World (2021)
- Rollercoaster (2024)
Mixtapes
- Cadence Weapon Is the Black Hand (2005)
- Separation Anxiety (2009)
- Tron Legacy: The Mixtape (2010)
Singles
- "House Music" (2008)
- "Conditioning" (2012)
- "When It's Real" (2013)
Guest Appearances
Cadence Weapon has been featured on songs by other artists:
- Antimc - "Canadian Dream" from It's Free, But It's Not Cheap (2006)
- Buck 65 - "Benz." from Situation (2007)
- Dragon Fli Empire - "Outside Inn" from Redefine (2009)
- Shout Out Out Out Out - "Coming Home" from Reintegration Time (2009)
- B. Dolan - "Fall of T.R.O.Y." from Fallen House, Sunken City (2010)
- The Hood Internet - "Critical Captions" from FEAT (2012)
- Shad + Skratch Bastid - "Homie" from The Spring Up (2013)
- The Voltage Heroes - "The Eagles" from This is Our City (2016)
- Jacques Greene - "Night Service" from Dawn Chorus (2019)
- Alice Ivy - "Sunrise" from Don't Sleep (2020)
- Hot Chip - "The Evil That Men Do" from Freakout/Release (2022)
- Low End Activist - "Superhighway" from Hostile Utopia (2022)
Productions
Cadence Weapon has also produced remixes for other artists:
- Think About Life - "Sweet Sixteen (Cadence Weapon Remix)" (2010)
- Liars - "Brats (Cadence Weapon Remix)" (2012)
