Why Subscribe to Cadence Weapon?
Hey! My name is Rollie Pemberton and I make music as Cadence Weapon. I was named the third poet laureate of my hometown of Edmonton in 2009. I won the 2021 Polaris Prize for my album Parallel World. My writing has been published in Pitchfork, The Guardian, Wired, The Globe and Mail and Hazlitt. My memoir Bedroom Rapper: Cadence Weapon on Hip-Hop, Resistance and Surviving the Music Industry was published by McClelland & Stewart in 2022.
When I started this newsletter in 2020, I set out to create something that was more than just a way to update folks about my tour dates and releases. I wanted to recapture the feeling of my music blog from the early 2000s, Razorblade Runner. I wanted to write about music in a way that wasn’t about maximizing engagement or going viral.
In today’s increasingly fraught online environment, social media companies use algorithms to gatekeep access to our own fans from us. It became important for me to find a way to directly communicate with my audience on my own terms and I believe that I’ve found that outlet with this newsletter.
What to expect from the Cadence Weapon newsletter:
information about my upcoming projects
deep dives on artists with extensive discographies
album reviews of both new and old albums
interviews with musicians and public figures
in-depth commentary about the future of the music industry
If you become a paid subscriber, here’s what you’ll get:
several additional paid subscriber-only posts each month
bonus materials and additional resources for the free posts, including playlists
full access to the archive
a monthly recommendation post with music, film, TV and more
full access to the new playlist section with curated collections of music that I’ve compiled over the years
access to exclusive vinyl variants only for paid subscribers
access to the Pemberton Academy, a content library of tutorials for aspiring musicians and curious music fans drawn from my two decades of experience as a professional musician, DJ and music journalist
Here are some greatest hits from over the years to give you an idea of the vibe:
With this newsletter, I want to cultivate a slower, more thoughtful online experience that is as removed from the attention economy as possible. If this sounds good to you, I hope you’ll join me.
All the best,
Rollie
