Rapper, producer, journalist, and former poet laureate
Rollie Pemberton added Polaris Music Prize winner to his list of accomplishments in 2021, when the prestigious award was given to
Parallel World, the most politically charged work of his career. He then published the excellent memoir Bedroom Rapper: Cadence Weapon on Hip-Hop, Resistance and Surviving the Music Industry, detailing his rise as an Internet-bred scenester, Pitchfork writer, recording artist, and more.
Rollercoaster, his sixth album, shifts from
Parallel World's themes of systemic inequality, specifically among Black Canadians, to lyrics focusing on technology and online culture. Having come up when the Internet was a fascinating new vista of instant information and worldwide community, only to see it gradually devolve into a toxic wasteland platforming humanity's worst aspects,
Pemberton sharply addresses technology's impact on society, and its effect on our mental health. He also has some brutal words for the current state of the music industry, metaphorically chopping down industry plants with a chainsaw on the sardonically funny "Bots."
Pemberton was an early adapter of grime and electro-house influences on his initial albums, and he continues exploring forward-thinking and out-of-the-box styles, working with an extensive and impressive list of collaborators and producers. Singer/songwriter
Bartees Strange gets three tracks on
Rollercoaster more or less to himself, from a brief acoustic intro about having imposter syndrome to the gloomy, heartfelt "You Are Special to Me." Several tracks match the technological lyrics with futuristic hybrid electro --
Pemberton self-describes "Exceptional" (with
Jacques Greene) as sounding like
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony collaborating with Detroit's
DJ Bone, and he makes reference to
Drexciya's
James Stinson on the riveting "Lexicon" (with
Martyn Bootyspoon). The
Machinedrum-produced "My Computer" captures even more of a hard-driving Motor City electro vibe.
Loraine James' fractured, noisy beats for "EFT" seem to dumbfound
Pemberton himself, who exclaims "Loraine, you're crazy for this!" at the track's end. The restrained, piano-laced "tl;dr" is a poetic and personal reflection making reference to trauma farming, copaganda, and having to live stream his grandmother's wake. At the end, it's humorously concluded as if it's a lengthy, ranting post revealing too much information. As with
Parallel World, and really his entire discography,
Pemberton skillfully writes about relevant subject matter while maintaining his distinctive wit, as well as his ear for advanced, boundary-shattering production. ~ Paul Simpson
