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Cadence Weapon captures Polaris Music Prize for hip-hop album ‘Parallel World’
Global News
Cadence Weapon has won the 2021 Polaris Music Prize for his album "Parallel World.''
Cadence Weapon has won the 2021 Polaris Music Prize for his album Parallel World.
The Edmonton-raised rapper’s full-length record — which fuses hip-hop, electronic and grime music into a reflection on social injustice — was selected by an 11-member grand jury as the best Canadian album of the year, based on its artistic merit.
The recognition comes with a $50,000 prize and heightened awareness for the artist who’s been part of Canada’s music industry for well over a decade but is still widely considered underground.
“I can’t believe this is happening, I feel amazing,” he said by webcam on Monday as he accepted the honour from his home.
The 35-year-old musician’s win comes after two of his previous albums were Polaris shortlisted, 2006’s Breaking Kayfabe and 2012’s Hope in Dirt City, but didn’t take home the prize.
Parallel World, his fifth album, was already a darling of music critics who applauded how its 10 songs that play out over a brisk 26-minutes left a lasting impact. Some credited the record with capturing a uniquely Toronto perspective on the Black experience in Canada that grapples with gentrification, technology and history.
“I definitely made music with a journalistic lens,” he said, acknowledging much of the album’s inspiration came from watching the George Floyd protests last year.
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