At 36, one of the stars of the day’s outdoor programming at the Festival international de jazz de Montréal (FIJM), author, composer and rapper Cadence Weapon, is on a roll. After winning the Polaris Prize in September 2021 for her fifth album, Parallel World, he published his memoirs last month, which begs the question: isn’t it still a bit early — and pretentious — to write his memoirs at such a young age? He was expecting this one: “It’s true, but I already feel like I’ve lived several lives. I especially wanted to write this book because my background is unusual: a black, originally from Edmonton, who dreamed of becoming a rapper at a young age? »
The book is titled Bedroom Rapper: Cadence Weapon on Hip-Hop, Resistance and Surviving the Music Industry, published by McClelland & Stewart. Fascinating reading, first because the guy has a pen and breath, he who gave up his studies in journalism to invest himself fully in his young musical career. (Rollie Pemberton, however, kept a foothold in the business, becoming one of the first journalists assigned to the rap scene of the specialized media pitchfork.)
Then because his story is sprinkled with reflections on the music industry and rich anecdotes about the colleagues and friends he met along the way. First, the “prairie rap” community, as he calls it. These MCs acting far from the big centers, practically ignored by the Toronto scene, to texts foreign to the reality of city rap. Through this finished music lover, son of the first radio host to broadcast rap in Edmonton—a larger-than-life character he speaks of with affection—we discover a scene hitherto recognized only by insiders.
But there are also all these memories featuring Montreal musicians, Pemberton having lived with us from 2009 to 2015 before heading to Toronto, where he still resides. Among other unusual details, we learn that he was paid for having played the guinea pigs during scientific experiments at McGill University: “Mac DeMarco also did it when he lived in Montreal! They never gave me an injection, but they scanned my brain: they asked me things like clicking on buttons to measure my reaction speed…”
Montreal and its vibe
“I feel so nostalgic when I come back to Montreal,” he says. I also have the feeling that it was during this period that I became the artist I am today”, iconoclastic rapper with a sharp pen, curious aesthete who followed a musical diet of American indie rap and British grime which, even today, encourages him to leave the frame and turn his back on fashions to put his rhymes on avant-garde productions.
He treasures his friendships with local musicians; electronic composers Jacques Greene and Martyn Bootyspoon collaborated on the recording of Parallel World. “Even when I started working on my book project in 2019, my first idea was to write a fiction inspired by my own experience as a DJ in Montreal”, especially at La Buvette chez Simone. “It was a friend who suggested that I talk about myself, my background and my career, because a book like that didn’t exist. I thought it was important, especially for young black people in Edmonton who were looking for a role model, like me at the time. »
On its outdoor stage Friday night, Cadence Weapon will perform rearranged versions of songs from the album that earned it its first Polaris in three nominations.
“I was proud to receive this award, especially for Parallel World, he comments. I put everything into this album, worked nonstop on it during the pandemic. Above all, I address important subjects in my texts: systemic racism, for example. It was the first time that I went into it thoroughly in this kind of subject; to see that it has been recognized and rewarded, it feels good. »
A drummer, a cellist, a keyboardist and a saxophonist will accompany him on stage. ” We’re going jazzy, says Pemberton. I hope to recreate a vibes à la Arthur Russell”, the composer and cellist who, in the 1970s, pushed disco into new avant-garde avenues. It will give some indication of the musical direction he intends to take for his next album, already in the works. “I’m in a house and synth pop phase — like Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys: very ’80s stuff. You see the group Nu Musik, his song warping (1982)? One of my biggest influences right now. »