Cadence Weapon

Today, Toronto-based rapper, producer, writer, poet, and activist, Cadence Weapon (aka Roland “Rollie” Pemberton) presents the Lorraine James remix of “On Me,” a standout reimagining from the forthcoming deluxe version of Pemberton’s 2021 Polaris Music Prize-winning album, Parallel World, out March 25th on MNRK Music Group. “On Me” (Lorraine James Remix) follows lead single, “SENNA,” featuring Jacques Greene and UK artist, Logan.

Throughout the expanded edition of Parallel World, Pemberton aims to preserve and resurrect Black cultural memory by forging connections between personal, local, and collective histories.

“Loraine James is one of my favorite artists,” explains Pemberton, “so I was overjoyed when she said she was down to do a remix for me. She’s one of the most innovative electronic musicians in the UK. Loraine’s interpretation of ‘On Me’ brings out the warped paranoia of targeted surveillance in a more trippy way than on the original.” In conjunction, Pemberton presents “On Me” (Loraine James Remix) alongside a visualizer directed by Scott Pilgrim.

For the expansive deluxe version of Parallel World, Pemmberton handpicked a collection of friends, collaborators, and rising artists from across Canada and London, UK, who respectively forge their own sound to provide the remixes. This eclectic blend of offerings pulls his 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.

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, Pembleton found endless outlets for his creativity on the internet, where there were no limits on discovering music, 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. Last year, Pemberton received his fifth Polaris for his 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.

On the road, Pemberton’s opened for the likes of Public Enemy, De La Soul, Mos Def, Kool Keith, Busdriver, Questlove, and others, all while continuing to honor his hometown in both his music and writing; in 2009, he was appointed the Poet Laureate of Edmonton and spent two years forging a new legacy for his city as its representative rapper-poet. 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 in May via McClelland & Stewart.