The Witzard

Make no mistake, party people—'round these parts, one-time Canadian Poet Laureate and former Pitchfork staff writer Roland (Rollie) "Cadence Weapon" Pemberton is often regarded as one of the finest, funnest, and most-talented emcees in all of the land; just think, an extremely more talented, painfully under-rated, waaaayyy less corny, lyrically verbose version of Canadian export Drake . Cadence Weapon recently re-emerged from a self-imposed nearly 5-year-long sabbatical from the music industry following his critically-acclaimed 2012 album. Hope In Dirt City , as well as a brief period wherein he appeared to be going by simply "Rollie." A re-weaponized and tactfully word-sharpened Cadence Weapon triumphantly returned to the spotlight not long after the top of the year with KAYTRANADA -produced "My Crew (Woooo)" and not long after, seemingly only Spotify Canada -released "Connor McDavid" (which soon pooped up on his Soundcloud. ) Whi...

"There's a sense of personal freedom that's unique to Montreal and "My Crew (Woooo)" is a representation of that feeling... It's a song about defying the labels that people try to place on artists. Is it Underground ? Mainstream ? Conscious ? Trap ? Who cares, as long as it sounds dope," rapper-producer, acclaimed writer, and Edmonton 's 2009 Poet Laureate Roland "Rollie" Pemberton (Cadence Weapon) wrote within a recent statement sent to EXCLAIM! Cadence Weapon is finally back in full form, after taking a nearly 5-year break following his last full-length album, 2012 Polaris Music Prize -nominated Hope In Dirt City . Pemberton made a few short-lived attempts at a proper comeback: first, with 2013 Jarrell Perry -assisted non-album single "When It's Real" and then, seemingly teased a temporary re-branding as "Rollie" throughout 2015 with Summer Cool Music Two comp. submission "Come See Me" and a f...

Since it's largely being totted as an [all] "GiRL pUnK bAnD," I'm mildly curious as to what sort of role rising Vancouver producer Blood Diamonds (Mike Tucker) really played in the creation of "DON'T SMOKE MY BLUNT BITCH." Supposedly recorded in 10 minutes and filmed in under an hour over the weekend, the track was produced by Grimes and it's trippy-ass music video was directed by Tragik . L$D 's third and final member, KREAYSHAWN looks really hot and raps well too, as usual! President Obama said that " L$D r a fresh breath of air after months of depressing goth pop " and New York Times has already championed them as "the hypest band in l.a." No word just yet on an L$D album/mixtape, but I'd almost expect one sooner than later since they keep referring to "DON'T SMOKE MY BLUNT BITCH" as their first single. KREAYSHAWN 's long-rumored Interscope debut, Somethin' Bout Kreay is slated for an...

Claire Boucher seems to be flirting with the idea of becoming a "Hip-Hop producer," as of late. The Montreal -based Experimental artist who's alternatively known as "Grimes" is currently on a promotional jaunt for her third full-length and major label debut, Visions . It was liberated across North America just yesterday [Feb. 21st], self-recorded @ Claire Boucher 's apartment over a 3 week period, and then skillfully mixed/mastered along with her manager, Sebastian Cowan . Following a minor water-borne run in with the law (2009), Boucher's "street cred" was slightly boosted. Grimes' initial exploration into the world of Hip-Hop was released in conjunction with Visions : Cadence Weapon - "88." The 2 Canadian -bred artists struck up an Internet -based friendship a few months back and Claire Boucher willingly handed over a bare-bones beat version of "Eight." Cadence Weapon then morphed it into a tender ode to H...