Pondering the Polaris Prize
Pondering the Polaris Prize
Some thoughts on the award a year later
On Monday, I’ll be performing at the 2022 Polaris Music Prize gala and passing the torch to the artist that made the year’s Best Canadian Album at the end of the night. Winning the award changed my life. Seeing my name on a list next to Buffy Sainte-Marie, Caribou and Godspeed You! Black Emperor will never stop feeling surreal.
So much has happened since that night: I moved to Hamilton, bought a house, got married, published a memoir, got new management, became Atkinson Artist and played festivals all across Canada. Winning the Polaris Music Prize was the culmination of decades of work, going all the way back to when I was just a kid making beats in my mom’s attic.
The world has also changed dramatically over the past year. I found out that I won while sitting at my laptop on Zoom in the one bedroom condo I shared with my partner on Eglinton and Caledonia. There was no gala last year, as Canada was still slow to fully reopen. We went out to a small unofficial gathering at a bar in Kensington to celebrate. Over the next two days, I played limited capacity, seated and masked shows at the Garrison before being hurtled into the uncertainty of a monthlong tour of the United States that featured little to no restrictions.
What I’ve found most interesting about my post-Polaris life is how I’m perceived by others. Some musicians look at me like The Oracle, asking “How did you do it?!” Winning has solidified my legacy in Canadian music. That said I’ve always seen myself the same way, no matter how washed or successful I may have appeared to the outside observer.
The most important thing about winning the award is that it has afforded me the space and comfort to make music and write stories at my own pace on my own terms. I feel no pressure about how my next work will be received. Everything post-Polaris is just gravy. I’ve already proven myself.
With the relaxing of pandemic rules and a return to “normal life,” I wonder if people would have had the emotional capacity for an album as overtly political as Parallel World if it came out today. That’s the crazy thing about a life in music. Sometimes it really is just about being the right person with the right album at the right time. Seems like the music world has moved headlong into a less cerebral, more physical phase. Who knows what that might mean for this year’s ten nominees? I personally can’t wait to find out.
Upcoming Events
I’ll be in conversation with Michael Barclay at the Toronto International Festival of Authors on September 24th at Fleck Dance Theatre
I’ll be in Calgary for WordFest 2022 from September 29th to October 3rd where I get to discuss the significance of clothing and the art of the memoir
On October 14th, I head over to Brooklyn to play a live show at public records with Tama Gucci on the bill
I’ll be doing a keynote speech at LitFest 2022 in Edmonton on October 22nd at Co*lab (9641 102A Ave NW)
You can find me updating my playlist or hanging on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram. You can listen to Cadence Weapon music on Spotify, Apple Music and Bandcamp and you can cop Cadence Weapon merchandise here. Get your copy of Bedroom Rapper here and rate it on Goodreads (low key my favourite social media site right now)