September 10, 2021
eOne Music
1xLP (Limited Edition Silver Mirror Vinyl)
Cadence Weapon was Canada's most interesting MC long before he became Canada's greatest MC. The former poet laureate of Edmonton's style has always been uncompromising, and yet it seems like with every album he gets closer to fulfilling his vision — which amounts to something close to prairie-grime. The Edmontonian has been interpolating and weaving the UK's cousin-of-hip hop into the fabric of Canadian music well before Aubrey got a BBK tattoo, well well before his efforts were awarded a Polaris Prize. Cadence was on that tip before he could even posture for a trend, and those roots still form an integral part of his aesthetic. Tellingly, the first feature on Parallel World is Grime legend and Roll Deep inaugural member Manga Saint Hilare, who sounds not dissimilar to Cadence despite the thousands of kilometres that separate their homes. This is a charged record filled with jagged music and harsh truths. The prairies got something to say.